Bush Caught on Tape: “A Wiretap Requires A Court Order. Nothing Has Changed.”
By on Dec 20th, 2005 at 3:56 pm
Bush Caught on Tape: “A Wiretap Requires A Court Order. Nothing Has Changed.”
Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.
(HT: Atrios)
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Hey Dubya, are your pants on fire?
December 20th, 2005 at 3:58 pmAs an American citizen who served his country during the first Gulf War, I am ashamed that I live in this country. I cannot believe that Americans are not enraged that King Bush has taken it upon himself to authorize spying on US citizens. US citizens like the tax paying Anti-War group from Lakeworth Florida. This group was deemed a threat by the Pentagon, there only crime my fellow citizens, was following the First Amendment.
The Lakeworth group where not making calls outside the US, where not connected to Al-Qaeda, and where nothing more than every day citizens like you and me, using their constitutional right to free speech. Teddy Roosevelt once said, “To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American Public.”
We must never at any time or under any circumstance, sacrifice our liberties in exchange for security. If we as free American citizens allow this to happen, we will soon find ourselves living in a country that has neither.
Cristian Ripoll
December 20th, 2005 at 4:00 pmChances of this being picked up by the MSM?…
December 20th, 2005 at 4:00 pmhmmm….
I’m guessing about 0%
During an election: court order
After you are re-elected: no court order
December 20th, 2005 at 4:01 pmImpeach. Remove from office. Imprison.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:02 pmHow much better will this thing get? He’s already been the plantiff, the defense, judge, lawyers and jury in his own case… Perhaps he ill also be his own Executioner?
December 20th, 2005 at 4:02 pmCNN leading with this story at 4pm. Great stuff.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:03 pmChristian,
Makes perfect sense to me. Apparently, the loony right does not prescribe to american liberty and tradition.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:03 pmWhen I say rise up, I’m not talking about your weiner.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:04 pm#3–normally, yes. but this is so egregious, it MUST be brought up by the MSM
December 20th, 2005 at 4:05 pmyou all are doing an incredible job, as usual, of chasing down this story and wringing the truth out of this administration’s sopping lies.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:06 pmSacrifice your country so 30% of the people can have a false sense of security. Yeah that’s the ticket.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:06 pmCristian,
That’s why Think Progress and other progressive sites are here. To bring the truth and make the unaware aware.
Here’s a quote I think you’ll like.
“Fear not your enemies for the can only kill you; fear not your friends for they can only betray you. Fear only the indifferent, who permit the killers and betrayers to walk safelt on the earth.” EDWARD YASHINSKY
December 20th, 2005 at 4:08 pmWhat do the broken record, loony, ingnorant, fear loving, wingnuts have to say about this one?
December 20th, 2005 at 4:08 pmBush defense –
“No big deal that was before now this is now. Don’t want to spend so much time looking at the internets about what I said.”
December 20th, 2005 at 4:08 pm8- More like, “It’s OKay If You Are Republican,” IOKIYAR. Wonderful thing, washes away corruption, cuts through laws, and makes anything permissible, as long as the ends justify the means.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:09 pmSMOKING GUN!!!!!!!!!!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:10 pmWOW.
Good find ThinkProg!
This clearly demonstrates a willing patern of deciept, and should bode well for the upcoming Articles of Impeachment.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:11 pmHe didn’t smoke cocaine, he snorted it.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:12 pmBush 12-21-2005: “That’s not what I am talking about. Those were wiretaps back then, now they are super secret electromagneato thingys that don’t require wires. Boy, if you people only knew.”
December 20th, 2005 at 4:12 pmA willing pattern of deceipt.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:12 pmThe indifferent must understand that it’s time to put down the Lee Greenwood records, stop thinking everything is okeydokey and ends just like an episode of a crappy Chuck Norris program. It’s time for the indifferent to join the real world.
Patriotism is not about a flag, symbolism, country music,
December 20th, 2005 at 4:12 pmor apple pie. It’s about standing up to the face of evil and corruption, fighting for your right to be free of any constrictions against you and those close to you.
We must never at any time or under any circumstance, sacrifice our liberties in exchange for security. If we as free American citizens allow this to happen, we will soon find ourselves living in a country that has neither.
Cristian Ripoll
Comment by Cristian Ripoll
Picking up traitors, saboteurs, terrorists and hippies isn’t a sacrifice to liberty. It’s what we pay the government for. By the way, I looked up that Lakeworth site. I’ve never seen such a rat hole filled with terrorist supporting groups and anti-American front men for the World Communist movement. If you actually served in the military and that’s questionable because of all the lies that run rampant here, you should be ashamed. At the very least you should give up your benefits, renounce your citizenship and move to Kanaduh. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass either.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:15 pm22. Thank God you didn’t say NASCAR. Nothin’ more patriotic than that!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:15 pmBush’s response:
“These wiretaps are not prisoners of war, they are terrorists, so the law does not apply to them. Anyhow, back then, Alberto wasn’t in office to tell me it was OK to do. Oh yeah, back then was an election year, this year isn’t, so go f*ck yourselves.”
December 20th, 2005 at 4:17 pmLying sack of shit.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:17 pmI’m with True Blue on this (as everything else damaging to this administration) except that I think it’ll have legs for….ohhh….say today, and it’ll be swept under the rug tomorrow. Should be buried accordingly by the NYT and WaPo. Don’t you love corruption? The cancer that is this administration has grown to near terminal proportions.
Someone on FDL posted this earlier today from the Peter Daou report and I thought it was brilliant. Wanted to share with all of you. Sorry for the length:
Daou Report
by Peter Daou
New The Dynamic of a Bush Scandal: How the Spying Story Will Unfold (and Fade) – The third button on the Daou Report’s navigation bar links to the U.S. Constitution, a Constitution many Americans believe is on life support – if not already dead. The cause of its demise is the corrosive interplay between the Bush administration, a bevy of blind apologists, a politically apathetic public, a well-oiled rightwing message machine, lapdog reporters, and a disorganized opposition. The domestic spying case perfectly illuminates the workings of that system. And the unfolding of this story augurs poorly for those who expect it to yield different results from other administration scandals.
Here’s why: the dynamic of a typical Bush scandal follows familiar contours…
1. POTUS circumvents the law – an impeachable offense.
2. The story breaks (in this case after having been concealed by a news organization until well after Election 2004).
3. The Bush crew floats a number of pushback strategies, settling on one that becomes the mantra of virtually every Republican surrogate. These Republicans face down poorly prepped Dem surrogates and shred them on cable news shows.
4. Rightwing attack dogs on talk radio, blogs, cable nets, and conservative editorial pages maul Bush’s critics as traitors for questioning the CIC.
5. The Republican leadership plays defense for Bush, no matter how flagrant the Bush over-reach, no matter how damaging the administration’s actions to America’s reputation and to the Constitution. A few ‘mavericks’ like Hagel or Specter risk the inevitable rightwing backlash and meekly suggest that the president should obey the law. John McCain, always the Bush apologist when it really comes down to it, minimizes the scandal.
6. Left-leaning bloggers and online activists go ballistic, expressing their all-too-familiar combination of outrage at Bush and frustration that nothing ever seems to happen with these scandals. Several newspaper editorials echo these sentiments but quickly move on to other issues.
7. A few reliable Dems, Conyers, Boxer, et al, take a stand on principle, giving momentary hope to the progressive grassroots/netroots community. The rest of the Dem leadership is temporarily outraged (adding to that hope), but is chronically incapable of maintaining the sense of high indignation and focus required to reach critical mass and create a wholesale shift in public opinion. For example, just as this mother of all scandals hits Washington, Democrats are still putting out press releases on Iraq, ANWR and a range of other topics, diluting the story and signaling that they have little intention of following through. This allows Bush to use his three favorite weapons: time, America’s political apathy, and make-believe ‘journalists’ who yuck it up with him and ask fluff questions at his frat-boy pressers.
8. Reporters and media outlets obfuscate and equivocate, pretending to ask tough questions but essentially pushing the same narratives they’ve developed and perfected over the past five years, namely, some variation of “Bush firm, Dems soft.” A range of Bush-protecting tactics are put into play, one being to ask ridiculously misleading questions such as “Should Bush have the right to protect Americans or should he cave in to Democratic political pressure?” All the while, the right assaults the “liberal” media for daring to tell anything resembling the truth.
9. Polls will emerge with ‘proof’ that half the public agrees that Bush should have the right to “protect Americans against terrorists.” Again, the issue will be framed to mask the true nature of the malfeasance. The media will use these polls to create a self-fulfilling loop and convince the public that it isn’t that bad after all. The president breaks the law. Life goes on.
10. The story starts blending into a long string of administration scandals, and through skillful use of scandal fatigue, Bush weathers the storm and moves on, further demoralizing his opponents and cementing the press narrative about his ‘resolve’ and toughness. Congressional hearings might revive the issue momentarily, and bloggers will hammer away at it, but the initial hype is all the Democrat leadership and the media can muster, and anyway, it’s never as juicy the second time around…
Rinse and repeat.
It’s a battle of attrition that Bush and his team have mastered. Short of a major Dem initiative to alter the cycle, to throw a wrench into the system, to go after the media institutionally, this cycle will continue for the foreseeable future
December 20th, 2005 at 4:17 pmLie-Right-Lie:
L-L-L-L-Liar!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:19 pmIRI- Who said that you could come on this site and talk
like a piece of shit?
You didn’t serve in the military, so you don’t have the right to know more about the military than Cristian.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:19 pmGo enlist and then come back when you have a better perspective.
That’s right I-Right-I,
Kick some ass and take some names for us, we don’t know how good we have it, and don’t even know how much you are keeping things safe.
I think the hippies at the local coffee shop are threatening our very way of life, lets go down there and kick thier sorry asses.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:21 pmI-RIGHT-I, you and your buddies would be supporting King George I during the Revolutionary war. You are the counter-revolutionaries who haunt the progressive values of not only today’s society, but from which the Founders also cherished and set in motion.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:23 pmLie-Right-Lie,
Go Dick Cheney Yourself.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:23 pmYeah… they’re always TALKING about a court order… not actually getting it.
Another one of those “technically true” statements.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:24 pmIMPEACH, REMOVE FROM OFFICE, IMPRISON
Lying Facist= Bush
December 20th, 2005 at 4:24 pmIRI – Promoting the expulsion of dissidents is facisism. Please practice this elsewhere we no likey here.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:24 pmSilly For Truth, we don’t have to go kick the hippies’ asses anymore. We have a government to do that now!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:25 pmreally?! king george-requires a court order?!hmmmmm
December 20th, 2005 at 4:25 pmwell, then why the f*** didn’t YOU get one??!
#23 IRI, you are so immoderate, you cute little rascal! You deserve a tummy yummy! Yes you do!
Picking up traitors, saboteurs, terrorists and hippies isn’t a sacrifice to liberty. It’s what we pay the government for.
HIPPIES, IRI? HIPPIES?!
Thank you for showing your concept of liberty: choose a style of dress that I-Right-I doesn’t like, and GET JAILED FOR IT!
Thank God You are an all-knowing genius, otherwise this claim that our tax money was intended to “pick up hippies” would sound like the ravings of an ignorant fool.
After all the hippies are picked up, who’s next, I-R-I? How about men with long hair? Or hip-hop aficionados in baggy pants? Or women without veils?
Better yet, why don’t we sit down and write up a “dress code for liberty,” and enforce it rigorously. Any expression of individuality will be grounds for imprisonment, a wire-tap on your phone, and secret incarceration in a former soviet prison in Poland.
O how peaceful it will be. We’ll set everybody free.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:26 pmsOMEONE HAS GOTTA DO A FREEDOM OF INFOMATION ACT FROM FISA AND SEE IF THIS CLOWN ACTUALLY GOT A COURT ORDER,MY GUESS BUSH IS A LYING BAS&&&TRD
IMPEACH AND JAIL THIS BUSHCO..
December 20th, 2005 at 4:27 pmJay, that certainly is a very sobering and depressing report. All of it is so true … I just hope that this time will be different, that this is such an egregious affront to the sensibilities of ALL sane Americans that the Dems (and Repubs) will have no choice but to press forward with hearings and impeachment.
#29 – right on!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:29 pm#27 Jay,
Sadly, you are correct. I feel the biggest problem is the apathy, way too many people just don’t care, and don’t care to know. The public will take interest, and mobilize, when the crap is flying into thier own backyards.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:30 pmBetter yet, why don’t we sit down and write up a “dress code for liberty,†and enforce it rigorously.
Can we exclude “members only” jackets and “puffy” coats … if so, I’m in :-)
December 20th, 2005 at 4:33 pm#39, Howard Dean is filing a formal FOIA request – you can add your name here:
http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/domesticspying
December 20th, 2005 at 4:34 pmHow much more are we going to find out? It’s something new every damn day with this administration. Time to flush the proverbial toilet full of s**** and IMPEACH this bastard for his war crimes.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:34 pmBetter be watching Supreme Court Nominee Closer Now – You think Dubba would be Stacking the deck for upcoming decision about this matter?
December 20th, 2005 at 4:34 pm. #6 How much better will this thing get?
. He’s already been the plantiff, the defense,
. judge, lawyers and jury in his own case…
. Perhaps he ill also be his own Executioner?
Comment by unbelievable
I have said for years this little monkey boy pResident will not go away quitely, his last moments in office will look like the warden scene in the Shawshank Redemption, when the corrupt warden is being arrested for taking kick backs for corruption. Rather than go quitely like his cronies, he chooses another exit.
And don’t worry about lie wrong lie, it is a little sack of crap that forgot that it was using one of it’s other wacko names like tuck, aphrodykie, crappycon, noreastdimentia, tankolies, tuckfrauler….so many handles, one little brainless idiot.
CHIMPEACH for FITZMAS!
Treason is not the reason for the season!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:35 pmSo now Bush was FOR court orders for wire tapping, before he was against them? And Ed Schultz(sp?)is playing the audio of this flip flop on his show. TOO FUNNY!! WTG, TP!!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:36 pmWhat a smoking gun this is! What are wwingnut and I-rightwingnut-I going to say about this? Probably some more right-wing BS.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:37 pmHey 44, is an online petition really going to help? I have signed countless numbers of online petitions.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:37 pmI think it’s time people get the eff off the computers and get thee to DC and show them how damned sick of this we all are. I think we should go there and refuse to leave until congress takes some form of action to impeach. I’ve already been there 4 times… I’m willing to go for a 5th.
I-Right-I,
You have outed yourself as being a nutcase. People are usually somewhat restrained in what they say. So you must think some nasty stuff you don’t talk about. I bet you deep down hate minorities and think they all should be sent to their originating country. I bet you think only your religion should be tolerated. I know you cannot tolerate gay people. You think all drug addicts should be killed. You think women are for sex. When you go out in public, you have little conversations with yourself about all the freaks, wackos, and idiots you see. While all the time, this is your own projection of how you feel about yourself.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:40 pmNow, I’ve only read some of these comments, but it stikes me that you all need to think more carefully. Will you still be saying the same things should there be another terrorist attack that kills 100’s of Americans? If so, wonderful; if not, perhaps you shouldn’t have posted at all!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:40 pm#51 – I don’t know if an on-line petition is going to help but I’m signing everything I can. I also agree that we should go to DC and reclaim our house … I’m willing to go as well.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:40 pmNow, I’ve only read some of these comments, but it stikes me that you all need to think more carefully. Will you still be saying the same things should there be another terrorist attack that kills 100’s of Americans? If so, wonderful; if not, perhaps you shouldn’t have posted at all! Either we believe in the Constitution or we don’t…circumstances be damned!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:40 pmAre those the same missing explosives that were missing in Iraq? Ok, I remember that was tons and tons of missing stuff in Iraq.
bubble boy monkey king was spying on a Quaker peace group, I guess everyone in DC is illiterate and thought these people were Al Quaker.
bubble boy monkey king’s court stenographers are resigning in droves for accepting money for favorable “news”. Latest one is CNG reporter.
how about monkey boy bubble head king’s friends at Diebold: resignations and indictments.
and finally: How much longer till the bubble head monkey boy king declares himself God? Not long I suspect, as he already THINKS he is God. Wonder if he still talks to God? And I wonder what God really has been telling the monkey king?
December 20th, 2005 at 4:42 pmSomething fishy about this I-RIGHT-I fellow,me thinks its actually dick cheney or rumsfeld.Who else in their right mind would continue to go to bat for these criminal son of a bitches that never fought a war in their otherwise useless existences then have the balls to start one based on lies and then won’t let their little bastards go off to fight it?i right i is george bush’s scrotum maybe,or maybe he was cloned from the smegma under cheneys foreskin,whatever i don’t think hes human and would advise to ignore the ignoramus.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:42 pmWow. You think he beleives what he says when he says it??
December 20th, 2005 at 4:43 pm#53, according to the 911 commission, there are a hell of a lot more important reasons for us to be afraid of another attack (i.e., we are no better prepared than we were 4 years ago – remember Katrina?). Illegal wiretapping is a violation of our fundamental Constitutional rights. The government already has the capability, quite legally, to wiretap whoever they need to without circumventing the Constitution. It’s ludicrous to believe that wiretapping without a warrant (when one can be gotten retroactively) is going to protect us any better.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:44 pmTrue Blue… I’m glad you were wrong about the percentage. I wish I was wrong like that more often! Watching it on CNN right now!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:44 pmBethy,
It’s widely accepted that it’s not a question of if another attack occurs, but when. It’s likely going to happen anyway, we might as well have our civil liberties when it does happen. Or would you rather live in fear, have no civil liberties, and worry about terrorists.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:45 pmImpeach Hillary. Impeach Hillary. Sorry, I was just getting ahead of myself. Thats what I will be posting here in 2009 when she goes back to wiretapping our enemies. But, we all know that she will never be president anyway. Oh bother.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:45 pm#23 – Picking up traitors, saboteurs, terrorists and hippies isn’t a sacrifice to liberty.
I can’t wait till preznit Hillary gets elected in 2008 and uses all these awesome powers that Bush has allocated to the Executive so we can pick up all the neo-nazis, corporate crooks, fundies, TV pundits, and cheeto-mongers. We’ll roll you in dough, put a bow on your head, and ship you off to Guantanamo! Yee-haw!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:45 pmNow, I’ve only read some of these comments, but it stikes me that you all need to think more carefully. Will you still be saying the same things should there be another terrorist attack that kills 100’s of Americans? If so, wonderful; if not, perhaps you shouldn’t have posted at all!
Comment by Beth
Another terrorist attack does not give the president free reign to break the law as well. If you think back BEFORE 9/11 happened they HAD the reports and warnings of possible attacks using our planes and they did NOTHING about it. Cheney claiming that wire tapping will stop terrorism is a crock of crap. Wire tapping has gone on for decades anyway, Bush’s wire tapping got leaked and now he’s trying to dance his way out of it. If they were all so damn concerned with preventing a 9/11 they should have paid attention to the reports BEFORE it happened. They should have notified the FCC and slapped down heavier security at airports, but they didn’t. How many more excuses does this administration need to break the law? NONE! I say IMPEACH
December 20th, 2005 at 4:46 pmWill you still be saying the same things should there be another terrorist attack that kills 100’s of Americans? If so, wonderful; if not, perhaps you shouldn’t have posted at all!
Actually, there’s a terrorist whose orders have led to the killing of thousands of Americans, not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis. We’re trying to get him removed from office.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:48 pmI love it, all over the news is the
I-word
I M P E A C H M E N T
And the dumbya saying (past videos) that wire taps require court orders, but now they don’t require following the laws and obtaining.
One reporter says the pResident lies by omission!!!!
CHIMPEACH FOR FITZMAS…
What was it that someone said?
Treason is not the reason for the Season!!!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:49 pmI can’t help but hope that THIS TIME it will stick…especially when I hear even the most ambivalent, non-political people I know walking around going, “Can you believe this shit?!?!”
And put me down for being protected AND keeping my civil liberties, neither of which this administration has managed to do.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:50 pmWho wants to bet that there will be another “terrorist attack” before Bush leaves office. So he can say “I told you so”. Very coincidental that the London train bombings happened the day the Patriot Act was on the front burner in either the House, or Senate.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:50 pm#38, IRI is just jealous because hippies get lots of chicks and he has to wait around in a trucker’s rest stop to get a “date.”
December 20th, 2005 at 4:51 pmSurprisingly enough, it made it onto CNN… No burying this truth…
December 20th, 2005 at 4:51 pmDear GOD,
What did we do to offend You that you gave us 8 years of Bush the Monkey Emperor? And what, oh, what must be do to regain Your Grace to end his reign of torture, thuggishness, plundering, warmongering, and sowing bitter discord, or at least get us sanely through it? Will You ever turn Your Face toward us in Love and Forgiveness so we can get this frickin’ mafia impeached and out of power already? As an aside, I was wondering if all that talk about harlots and mystery Babylon and abominations in the Bible was really about our American mainstream mediawhorehouse. Just curious.
Your Loving Servant,
RichardTinDC
Oh, yes, if NSA or any other Instrument of the Busheviks are listening on or reading and recording this, I thank you, since it means our lament won’t be lost to history.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:52 pmWill you still be saying the same things should there be another terrorist attack that kills 100’s of Americans?
Oddly enough, most of Bush’s support comes from those parts of the country LEAST LIKELY to be a terrorist target.
Does that cognitive dissonance every jar your head?
December 20th, 2005 at 4:52 pmYou might hear counterarguments stating that Presidents have done this sort of thing for a long time. FDR was a serial abuser of the Constitution in WWII, Johnson and Nixon spied on Americans during Vietnam, and even after FISA was enacted in 1978 (to prevent further Presidential abuses and over-reaches) Reagan blatantly authorized sying without court approval and so did Bubba after the WTC attacks in 1993. I have been told (not verified) that Clinton admitted to doing so, and much like Bush today, he said that he would continue doing so if it meant protecting the people of the US from terrorists.
The question is, then, is it excusable for one President to do this and suffer no repercussions, or is there a line that must be drawn, and party affiliations aside say that the laws exist for all? Can the President (no matter who he is or the circumstances) choose which laws to obey and which ones he must break for “our own good”?
I say that just because the law has been broken before (and previously ignored by some of the same Democrats in Congress today) that it does not mean that such violations are now out of bounds and laws can be broken due to precendent. That is a terrible idea.
The Dems should have smacked Bubba upside his ass for breaking the law in 1993/1994 (a far better use of $$$ than a GOP-led bj investigation). Their failure on our behalf back then has allowed this to be less of an issue than it should be. However, they must never forget what the real issue is here – there are limits on Presidential powers and they have a job to do. Bush is not king (although he might act like it) and he is never above the laws which he solemnly pledeged to uphold. My own father has stated that he will trade civil liberties for security measures during a time of war (even if it is a never-ending war on terror), but that defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? We do not live in a police state now, yet liberty is seldom lost all at once. Franklin said, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.” Time to see if those were just hollow words or if people are willing to make real sacrifices for their freedom.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:53 pmis an online petition really going to help? I have signed countless numbers of online petitions.
Comment by BushSucks — December 20, 2005 @ 4:37 pm
Sometimes they do help – there’ve been a few at moveon.org that have defeated bills or made progress. I don’t think it can hurt and is easy enough to do.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:53 pm69. Leave IRI and Seabass to themselves. We don’t discriminate here.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:53 pm911 was terrible, but it did not
December 20th, 2005 at 4:53 pmrender the constitution null and void.
We have survived much worse in U.S. history
and I am not giving up my constitutional
right due to 911.
Maybe some flighting 101 keyboarders are
too chicken to stand up for our rights and
give the terrorists hell, but REAL patriots
are made of “sterner stuff”.
boy oh boy…and you thought Bill got caught with his pants down? Dubya has to win the all time award for lying sack of sh**. I can’t wait to see if the list of people being spied on actually is a republican enemies list rather than a terrorist watch list. I’m going to go get my popcorn and watch the whole Bushevik empire melt down. on CNN…but first, .I’m headed down to the library to get a book on communisim via interlibrary loan just to see if I can get a visit from the authorities….cheers
December 20th, 2005 at 4:53 pmWho wants to bet that there will be another “terrorist attack†before Bush leaves office. So he can say “I told you soâ€. Very coincidental that the London train bombings happened the day the Patriot Act was on the front burner in either the House, or Senate.
Comment by For Truth —
You don’t have to convince me. I’ve been expecting it. Their inside jobs are so obvious. Maybe they need to watch Goodfellas and learn a thing or two.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:54 pmSweet point #72
December 20th, 2005 at 4:54 pmIRI probably thinks those liberal New Yorkers deserved 9/11 anyway, and wishes California would get attacked.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:58 pmlike what Patrick Henry said “Give me liberity or give me death!” Our country is going to hell in a hand basket if we do not get rid of these killers! AKA: Dubya B.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:58 pmIRI = Bill O’Reilly? LOL
December 20th, 2005 at 5:00 pmEric & Chris, haven’t you heard? Poor Patrick Henry is on the W.H. History Revision cutting room floor, they had to make room for dumbya’s new version of the facts and the history books would be just too damn big if it included facts. Another victim of the history re-writers is the truth about the bush family (prescott) managing that factory in germany using slave labor.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:02 pmOh, it’s a beautiful thing to watch CNN tonit. They have the 2004 speech by Bush and they’re really hammering home the “did he deceive Congress and the American public” angle. I can’t believe it! They’re talking about a bipartisan demand for an immediate investigation. I’m cautiously optimistic…
December 20th, 2005 at 5:03 pmHistory teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.
Justice Thurgood Marshall
Marshall sure had the goods of fake patriots
December 20th, 2005 at 5:03 pmlike commander codpiece, didn’t he?
Hey, why can’t someone just give dumbya a B.J. so we can have
REAL
grounds for impeachment?
I would do it, but there are somethings I just CAN’T stand to touch……one of them is REPUGnican Nazis.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:04 pmMy only comment about this reprehensible Administration is the Bush/Cheney team and their appointed hacks and loyalists have been lying for so long that they have lost track of them.
By the way, Diebold, the voting machine company that delivered the 2004 election to Bush, is under investigation for its Enronesque behavior with its 401K plan. Too bad Diebold didn’t crash and burn in October 2004. We wouldn’t be stuck with Bush and living in a Bush imposed hell.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:06 pmNice one ELKE, hope you are a girl.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:09 pmHoly Shit – CNN just juxtaposed the 2004 speech vs. yesterday’s statement – it was amazing to hear the two statements side by side. Now they have Suzanne Malveaux talking about Scott McClellan trying to weasel out of it by saying that the 2004 speech was referring to the Patriot Act – WTF? Does he think we’re buying any of this shit?
She just said that the administration thinks that “most Americans will be silent about this and won’t contact their congresspeople during the holiday break – that they will side with Bush” – we have to prove them wrong, right?
December 20th, 2005 at 5:09 pmThe question is, then, is it excusable for one President to do this and suffer no repercussions, or is there a line that must be drawn, and party affiliations aside say that the laws exist for all? Can the President (no matter who he is or the circumstances) choose which laws to obey and which ones he must break for “our own good�
Comment by evilotto
Actually the question is whether or not Bush did something illegal. The answer is not clear to anyone but you losers. I guess you’re all constitutional scholars. We’ll see. I’m betting this is all Leftist propaganda.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:09 pmWhere’s Monica Screwinski when we REALLY need her? I bet there is NOTHING she wouldn’t put in her mouth. Maybe we could pay her TOO, just to “take one for the team”.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:09 pmIf CNN is demanding a bi-partisan investigation, it is very, very encouraging. I’ve been calling CNN Fox Lite since November 2000. An edit note about my post above. The Diebold co. former CEO O’Dell promised to deliver the election in OHIO to Bush in 2004. That he did indeed.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:10 pmThis is the New America, that was the Old America.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:10 pmWOW! BUSH LIED! AGAIN! AND WE STILL SEE THIS AS NEWS!
Wow! What is up with that?
December 20th, 2005 at 5:10 pmActually, us “losers” include everyone who’s been asked about this, including conservative scholars, experts and former and current intelligence personnel. That’s an awful lot of losers … in fact, the only ones who think it’s legal are the criminals (and people like you who support whatever they do).
December 20th, 2005 at 5:12 pm“we value the constitution”
What is this? Excuse me but the president takes an oath to defend the constitution not to endorse it or give lip service to it. Bush is in so many violations of the constitution that it turns my stomach. The congress should act swiftly to remove this corporate thug who has manipulated and subverted the constitution for profit and mayhem.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:12 pmInteresting that quite a few constitutional
December 20th, 2005 at 5:13 pmscholars (right and left) think commander codpiece
has a big problem here.
[Comment deleted by admin]
December 20th, 2005 at 5:13 pmI-Right-I,
The question is not whether Bush did anything illegal, but if his illegal activity can be prosecuted or not.
You liberal peace loving freak, who hates America, and wants us to lose the war.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:13 pmJack Cafferty just came on CNN and said “it doesn’t look good for democracy in Iraq” after preliminary election returns – our “guys” are losing badly and Iraq is on its way to becoming another Iran (his words). What a surprise (and how sad).
He also said that MOST people who wrote in regarding the wiretapping thought it was an impeachable offense. Keep it up, Jack!
December 20th, 2005 at 5:15 pmI completely agree with CarolSoprano. The United States of America is the LOSER in this. This is not a right/left issue so please don’t take it there I-Right-I.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:15 pm“Actually the question is whether or not Bush did something illegal.” MizzWrong
That question was answered by bush, the only question outstanding is when the impeachment hearings are to be held?
No law passed by congress can thwart the constitution has bush has claimed they ‘permitted’ him to do. He clearly violated the 4th amendment, and only a retard like the current crop of the mentally deficient republican trolls cannot see something so concrete and plain. This just goes to show you how retarded the typical republican troll actually is. Even in the face of undisputable evidence, they will lie, steal, cheat and deny. Criminality is clearly a base trait needed for reichwing republicanism.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:16 pmHey PINNOCHIO! how long can we go?
December 20th, 2005 at 5:16 pmdon’t you just love the way bushie’s ‘play it down’, ‘what’s the big deal’ stance just digs the hold DEEPER…LOLOLOLOL
December 20th, 2005 at 5:18 pmHow can anyone claim to support the United States
December 20th, 2005 at 5:19 pmwhen they are willing to sell-out the constitution
to a wannabe fascist like commander codpiece?
Are right-wing partisans so lost that they
would throw anyway the country because they
are scared?
What weasels they are.
When did God tell Christians to be so biggoted and hateful? Hate diversity and the poor?
I guess I didn’t get that memo.
I just don’t think these so called Christians are indeed what they say they are, their actions (boy george-king monkey boy specifically along with Pat Wongerson) don’t speak of God’s teachings.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:20 pmI don’t think Bush can be faulted for this. Publicly maintaining that wiretaps require a court order is consistent with his view that a classified program to monitor communications of Americans WITHOUT a court order was necessary and permitted under the law.
While he may be wrong about this (I think so), I can’t blame him for acting consistently with his own beliefs / policies.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:21 pmThe man is pond scum.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:23 pmIf you performed you job the way dumbya does his how long you think your employer would put up with it?
If you acted like John Roberts in your job interview and didn’t ever answer a question, do you think you would have been hired?
I guess it is good to be the KING
December 20th, 2005 at 5:23 pmWolf Blitzer is being harsh tonite with John McLaughlin (former acting CIA director)… keeps calling the NSA and CIA lawyers “career professionals”, implying that they couldn’t be impartial in their advice that the warrantless wiretapping was legal. He keeps saying it over and over again and is really grilling him on why FISA had to be circumvented, even retroactively. The other expert on said, “I have no problem, post 911, with the President wanting to change the rules, but he had to change the rules legally – FISA is the only protection the American people have against this kind of abuse – Nixon tried it and it didn’t work for him”. Pretty good interview!
December 20th, 2005 at 5:24 pmmrmister,
I’m sure nazis agreed with your stance during hitler’s reign. He acted consistently with his own beliefs and policies as well, and yet you argue there’s nothing wrong with this. Typical.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:24 pmPond scum … even less. What’s less than pond scum?
December 20th, 2005 at 5:26 pmOf course, I’m sure that question will get me an NSA wiretap.
The terrorists hate us for our freedoms. Therefore I have taken the bold step of preventing the terrorists from hating us by removing our freedoms.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:28 pmThe CNN thing sounds cool, but it’s probably not going any further, no national news, not even on CNN’s website. Maybe Fox will pick it up, just kidding.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:29 pmand finally: How much longer till the bubble head monkey boy king declares himself God? Not long I suspect, as he already THINKS he is God. Wonder if he still talks to God? And I wonder what God really has been telling the monkey king?
A good post, needs to be said again. Hope that’s ok.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:29 pm“Publicly maintaining that wiretaps require a court order is consistent with his view that a classified program to monitor communications of Americans WITHOUT a court order was necessary and permitted under the law.
While he may be wrong about this (I think so), I can’t blame him for acting consistently with his own beliefs / policies.”
Comment by mrmister — December 20, 2005 @
Instead of lying he could have said “I cannot comment . . .” That would have been consistent policy, not lying about it.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:31 pmCommenting friends,
December 20th, 2005 at 5:31 pmFear not, the star is bright over the White House…..the TRUTH, bit by bit, adds up to one be huge Christmas present for us.
Do you hear what I hear– the truth, the truth wafting through the night, bringing us hope and light….
See — we left leaners don’t hate Christmas!
Peace
Blogenfreude; I can understand your point, but was trying to be succinct, yet kind. How about dirt clod? My personal favorite is Douche-Bag-in-Chief, but some might find that a bit dated.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:32 pmIn some ways the terrorists are getting what they want. So many of us have been terrorized, prescribing to the fear, living in fear, making decisions out of fear. And terrorists would love it if we had less freedoms, and our way of life changed to include sacrifices. We are letting these terrorists have a negative impact on us, they are getting happier.
How about we let go of the fear, keep our way of life. This is what the terrorists don’t want.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:32 pmTreason is not the reason for the Season!
Fascist groove thang….. (go to buzzflash downloads) this one is great!
December 20th, 2005 at 5:33 pmEverybody is out to get me! I’ll show you! I’ll show you all who’s boss! Muwaahahahahaaaaa!
December 20th, 2005 at 5:35 pmAww…. Krash-Kart-Cheeney is returning early from his oil colonies to break a tie vote in the Senate. Wonder if the vote is on more concentration camps and Al Quakers?
December 20th, 2005 at 5:35 pmlie lie lie lie liar you lie lie lie lie lie
tell me why tell me why why d’you have to lie
should’ve realised that you should’ve
told the truth should’ve realised you know what
i’ll do
you’re in suspension
you’re a liar
now i wanna know know know know
i wanna know why you never
look me in the face
broke a confidence just to please
your ego shold’ve realised
you know what i know
you’re in suspension
you’re a liar
i know where you go every body you know
i know everything that you do or say
so when you tell lies i’ll always be in your way
i’m nobody’s fool and i know all ‘cos i know
what i know
you’re in suspension you’re a liar
you’re a liar you’re liar
lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie
lie lie lie lie liar you lie lie lie lie
i think you’re funny you’re funny ha ha
i don’t need it don’t need your blah blah
should’ve realised i know what you are
you’re in suspension you’re a liar
you’re a liar you’re a liar
lie lie
-Liar by Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols 1978
December 20th, 2005 at 5:35 pmIt’s funny that all the neo-freaks think the NYTimes is liberal. They sat on a story which could have damaged the 2004 Bush installment.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:36 pmIt has become apparent why Bushco never went to the Court for a warrant. Given the Court’s proclivity to approve all warrant requests the only logical reason for not submitting the request is that Bush knew the requests would be denied because of the subject of the request. To put it bluntly, Bush was not, repeat was not, spying on known terrorist sympathizers but on known political enemies. Howard Dean has a FOIA request for the list as well as other Justice Department documents. He won’t get them. He won’t get them because if the names were legitimate terrorists there would have been Warrants issues and arrests made. I hope one of the names on that list is Clyde the Ripper. Grandma may sell another doll with the publicity.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:36 pmI think my ability to hear Mr Bush has been corrupted by terrorists …
December 20th, 2005 at 5:37 pmHell, all of us are probably on zee lists. I don’t knkow about u but all my papers are in order! And I do have a CMA file and it will go public if anything happens.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:38 pm127,
I was thinking the same thing, if the courts are going to approve it anyway, why was he not using the courts? Hmmm… must be stuff the courts would not approve.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:39 pmLet’s see what has this administration done so far?
01. Allowed Corporate lobbysits to write it’s own laws – textbook fascism. Check.
02. Illegally detained Americans without right to a trial. (Hamdi vs. Cheney) Check.
03. Used chemical weapons, as chemical weapons, against civilian targets. Check.
04. Used taxpayer money as agit prop for its Admin’s pet policies. Illegal.Check.
05. Initiated taxpayer supported Faith Based charities – a violation of church and state. Check.
06. Outed a covert CIA agent for political retribution. Check.
07. Got a blow-job by an intern and lied about it under oath.***
08. Either balantly lied to get us into Iraq, and/or arrograntly thought that they would find WMD despite cherrypicking of intelligence that stated otherwise. Check.
09. Broke international law with subsequent invasion of Iraq for the purposes of regime change. Check.
10. Oh, and used the NSA to spy on Americans without FISA courts. Check.
All of them true. Damn, have they missed anything that we Americans hold dear? What’s next, surrender to the British?
***Clinton of course, but I throw him in there to keep the neo-con’s reading along.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:39 pmThe only and I do mean only way you can keep the attention of a REPUGnican Talliban is to mention someone else’s sex acts.
These people are truly and madly obsessed with SEX, SEX, SEX…so long as it is SOMEONE ELSE and SEX.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:42 pmQuicksand – I love your check list. Can I post it on my blog? Thanks! :)
December 20th, 2005 at 5:43 pmElke,
These conservatives repress all their sexual desires, and you see it coming out in other dysfunctional behaviors, like, getting the same high from power/money, corruption, war.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:46 pmHey 129,
December 20th, 2005 at 5:46 pmI walked in to find my daughter doing research (for History class) on Sudan. I nearly screamed out, “Noooo!”
Now the FBI’s gonna be at my door for sure.
#91
Actually the question is whether or not Bush did something illegal. The answer is not clear to anyone but you losers. I guess you’re all constitutional scholars. We’ll see. I’m betting this is all Leftist propaganda.
Comment by I-RIGHT-I — December 20, 2005 @ 5:09 pm
He admitted it, after stating on tape that it’s wrong to do so. What more do you want? He’s hung himself. We’re just here to make sure the body gets buried before it stinks up the White House even further.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:48 pmMore trouble in paradise for Bush besides lying and spying. Centure motion has been introduced by Conyers in the House over Iraq (fake) intel, torture and the whole kitchen sink. Check out Raw.story.com
Centure Piece here
December 20th, 2005 at 5:50 pmIf I didn’t have herpes I could live without their dirty money.
Comment by I-RIgHT-I — December 20, 2005 @ 5:13 pm
He admitted it… He gets paid to post here to pay for his meds.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:50 pmIsn’t it strange that they keep yelling security at us,yet are so unconcerned about our borders, etc. What do they know about the attack that we don’t? They do nothing real about security, yet threaten us with another attack. Watch out if things get too hot for them.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:51 pm#110
If you performed you job the way dumbya does his how long you think your employer would put up with it?
If you acted like John Roberts in your job interview and didn’t ever answer a question, do you think you would have been hired?
I guess it is good to be the KING
Comment by Randy — December 20, 2005 @ 5:23 pm
Sure, you can be Charles I (he was beheaded by English Parliament)
December 20th, 2005 at 5:54 pmNo one is talking about the Members of Congress that knew all along Bush was spying on U.S. citizens and they did not say anything. IMHO they are just as guilty as he is because they knew and they did nothing. I am ashamed to say that my representative, Nancy Pelosi, was one of the traitors.
If the Dems can’t run with this issue and make a lot of noise none of them will deserve our votes next time around. We the people should clean house from top to bottom in 2006 and throw all of the bums out.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:55 pm“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
– United States Constitution, Amendment IV”
The constitution trumps the patriot act, or presidential power – PERIOD!
December 20th, 2005 at 5:56 pm#116
and finally: How much longer till the bubble head monkey boy king declares himself God? Not long I suspect, as he already THINKS he is God. Wonder if he still talks to God? And I wonder what God really has been telling the monkey king?
A good post, needs to be said again. Hope that’s ok.
Comment by Randy — December 20, 2005 @ 5:29 pm
Randy, you do know that that’s an insult against your boy George, don’t you? Have you finally understood that he’s guilty?
December 20th, 2005 at 5:57 pmThis reminds me of the scene in the Sound of Music where NAZI Germany took control of Austria & wanted the Von Trapp family to sing in order to show that nothing has changed in Austria. The line went something like nothing has changed in Austria everything is still the same & like today everyone knows that was a lie.
Bush already admitted to wire tapping without a warrant at least 30 times which was a violation of FISA. Now he says that nothing has changed.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:58 pmWhy don’t you try this list Libby:
01. Allowed Corporate lobbysits to write it’s own laws – textbook fascism. Ridiculous exxageration.
02. Illegally detained Americans without right to a trial. (Hamdi vs. Cheney) No terrorist threat there.
03. Used chemical weapons, as chemical weapons, against civilian targets. In accordance with agreed upon military practices.
04. Used taxpayer money as agit prop for its Admin’s pet policies. Done by every administration since the invention of the income tax.
05. Initiated taxpayer supported Faith Based charities – a violation of church and state. Who are much more likely to get the money to people who need it.
06. Outed a covert CIA agent for political retribution. Left-Wing fantasy.
07. Got a blow-job by an intern and lied about it under oath. Could have happened
08. Either balantly lied to get us into Iraq, and/or arrograntly thought that they would find WMD despite cherrypicking of intelligence that stated otherwise. Agreed with European countries on interpretation of intelligence. Had the balls to act on it.
09. Broke international law with subsequent invasion of Iraq for the purposes of regime change. Authorized by US Congress to do just that.
10. Oh, and used the NSA to spy on Americans without FISA courts. In accordance with existing policy.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:00 pmLibby Shaw, go for it.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:01 pmNo thank you, cynicon implant, but thanks anyway for sharing your unfortunate views.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:03 pmQuicksand – Thanks! :) check out my blog later tonight…I’m on central time – an hour behind eastern.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:04 pmmust be shift change at the Troll Offices.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:04 pmNow we get CI for a while.
actually, we’re all the same person
December 20th, 2005 at 6:06 pmand you’re welcome Libby
December 20th, 2005 at 6:07 pmGreat… one Troll, Multiple Personalities!
December 20th, 2005 at 6:08 pmWe have our very own Sybill
December 20th, 2005 at 6:09 pm“I never had relations with that women.”
December 20th, 2005 at 6:10 pmwow, 139 posts and not one by any wingnut but bi-right-bi. this is a watershed moment in blogging history.
btw, a post from my blog (yes, i know it’s self-indulgent but this is my best yet, humor me):
ahh, that feeling… you know the one.
maybe you get chills, or goose bumps. or maybe you just have the feeling that you’re “not alone.”
you know what that is?
that’s jesus, spying on you. yep. it’s jesus, conducting an illegal spiritual wiretap on your ass, and there’s nothing you can do about it. and he’s gonna keep doing it. because he’s more powerful than santa claus. and you know what santa claus can do.
there are at least 30 million people in america that might feel that it’s completely alright for jesus to watch your every move. jesus knows what you look like naked. and they’re fine with that. jesus doesn’t care about the constitution. jesus was around long before the constitution ever existed.
hell, for all they know, jesus coulda freakin’ wrote the constitution.
because jesus has a hand in everything. jesus made america. that’s it. i said it. i wish i’d realized that before now but well, it took me moving to australia to finally get it. because i don’t meet anyone from any other country that thinks jesus had anything to do with their country’s creation.
and no, i’ve never met anyone from the vatican.
little did you know, but jesus and the holy ghost used to have equal powers, along with god. but god became almost ceremonial years ago, practically window-dressing in the world of spiritual power. jesus used to have to ask god if he could do things like enter people’s souls, or create countries, but now he just does it without asking. after that, jesus and the holy ghost had a power struggle, and of course jesus won. the holy ghost was supposed to be watching jesus, making sure he didn’t get out of line and start acting like a king or something crazy like that. but the holy ghost was sympathetic to jesus also, practically rubber-stamping everything jesus wanted to do. the holy ghost trusted jesus. nobody thought jesus was going for all the marbles, did they?
all i’m saying is that jesus has extraordinary powers, for a dead guy… who never mentioned once that he wanted people to worship him, or start a religion based on his teachings. just think if he had nukes, or a star wars program.
oh. i guess he does.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:11 pmcynicon implant, you are widly uniformed and on all points. If you would simply just read the papers, you’d know better. But you have not. Of if you do, you just scream “liberal media” and ignore what you read. This is called Confirmation bias btw. (Which my point number 04 addresses. your fallacy of eqvication only hopes to gloss over.) If you didn’t live in a conservative bubble of fear and paranoia, perhaps you’d take a fellow conserative advice, David Brooks (in a NY Times Opine two weeks ago), and divorce yourself from the Republican party.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:11 pmFingerprint File
by Rolling Stones
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)
Fingerprint file, you get me down
You keep me running
Know my way around. Yes, you do, child
Fingerprint file, you bring me down
Keep me running
You keep me on the ground
Know my moves
Way ahead of time
Listening to me
On your satellite
Feeling followed
Feeling tagged
Crossing water
Trying to wipe my tracks
And there’s some little jerk in the FBI
A keepin’ papers on me six feet high
It gets me down, it gets me down, it gets me down
You better watch out
On your telephone
Wrong number
They know you ain’t home
And there’s some little jerk in the FBI
A keepin’ papers on me six feet high
It gets me down, it gets me down, it gets me down
Who’s the man on the corner; that corner over there
I don’t know. Well, you better lay low. Watch out
Keep on the look out
Electric eyes
Rats on the sell out
Who gonna testify
You know my habits
Way a head of time
Listening to me
On your satellite
And there’s some little jerk in the FBI
A keepin’ papers on me six feet high
It gets me down, it gets me down, it gets me down
It gets me down
Hello, baby, mm-hmm
December 20th, 2005 at 6:14 pmAh, yeah, you know we ain’t, we ain’t talkin’ alone
Who’s listening? Well I don’t really know
But you better tell the SIS to keep out of sight
‘Cause I know they takin’ pictures on the ultraviolet light
Yes, uh huh, yeah, but these days it’s all secrecy; no privacy
Shoot first, that’ s right… you know
Bye bye.
Right now somebody is listening to…… you
Keeping their eyes peeled…… on you
Mmm, mmm, what a price, what a price to pay
All right. Good night, sleep tight
Dear President Bush:
I am tired of all these lies and deceit. Do you not understand what we want!
We do not want another terrorist attack in this country. I do not care that our enemy has no nation, had no army and had no face. I do not care that this is the most difficult war our country has ever faced. The existing laws of this land, although developed in a different time, are the laws you will use to fight this war. There will not be one liberty sacrificed for this war, no matter how small.
You will not go to foreign lands where these terrorists reside. You will instead fortify the homeland, ensuring every person that enters this country is not a terrorist, and any terrorists that are here will be captured no matter how difficult it will be to prosecute under our laws.
Every action you take must be backed up by evidence that is beyond refute. It does not matter how long it takes or how difficult it will be. There can not be any mistakes in judgement here.
If we cannot win this war under these rules, then this country does not deserve to exist.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:18 pmI think the problem with the right wingers is that they listen to and watch almost exclusively Rush and Fox – mere agents of disinformation, and right-wing propaganda and mendacity. CNN is “liberal” to many right wingers which I find appalling. I call them Fox Lite.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:18 pmI can’t believe this thread. Whenever the trolls deny anything, they are accuising W of being either a liar, a flip-flopper or a traitor. Please choose one – we need some consistancy here.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:21 pmWhat’s the matter with you people? Can’t you see that this lie had nothing to do with oral sex so it has no national importance what-so-ever. Duhh…..
December 20th, 2005 at 6:23 pm#155
Comment by Progressaurus Rex — December 20, 2005 @ 6:11 pm
loved it – thanks for posting it.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:23 pmIt is not true that Clinton ordered wiretaps without warrants. Tenet testified to this before Congress on 04/12/2000
December 20th, 2005 at 6:29 pm“We do not target their conversations unless a FISA warrant has been obtained from the FISA court by the Justice Dept.
My question now is: Why didn’t Bush get FISA warrants since he could easily have got them if the purpose was legitimate.
POWER CORRUPTS!!!!!!! IT is time for the People to take back our goverment!! The goverment is supposed to be ALL the people, not just one party! I feel sorry for people that support a party no matter how corrupt!!!!
December 20th, 2005 at 6:30 pmI have a question……since the Times was sitting on this story for my understanding over a year. Did they have this before the election???? If so, what kind’ve agreement or promises were they given to hold off on such an important story that might have given us a chance to have a real hero in office? I am asking because I see nobody is even talking about this possiblity.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:30 pmLies are truth. What next, eviserating puppies?
December 20th, 2005 at 6:40 pmBush caught in his own lie
In April 2004, President Bush made these remarks regarding the USA Patriot Act at the Kleinshans Music Hall:
December 20th, 2005 at 6:40 pmSecondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it…
Angie, no. Having the story for more than a year does not necessarily mean they had it before the election.
However, their timing did steal headlines away from the Iraqi election and Bush’s acts of contrition speeches.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:42 pmYes Angie, The Times had this before the election. Makes you wonder what else they have.
#3Chances of this being picked up by the MSM?…
hmmm….
I’m guessing about 0%
Comment by True Blue
My local NBC News just reported this. I’m so proud.
This isn’t going away. Bubble boy will be impeached.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:44 pmCross-referencing “the Republican Book of Lies” has become the job of several super computers.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:45 pmCynical, read this…http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-media20dec20,0,7619720.story?coll=la-home-headlines
December 20th, 2005 at 6:49 pmSorry cynical, bad link.. you can find the article a few threads down. Thinkprogress has already reported that the Times had this story before the election.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:51 pm#162-
thanks, unbelievable.
in the original blog post i link to a very good sermon about fundamentalism, worth the read:
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:P-y4qKDolhIJ:www.faithucc575.org/sermons/sermon.05-01-30.doc+%22number+of+fundamentalist+christians+in+america%22&hl=en&client=
an excerpt:
christianity as a religion is wholly inconsistent with the teachings of jesus himself. jesus didn’t want to be worshipped.
if christians actually believed this, we’d be getting somewhere. instead it’s “worship the messenger, ignore the message”
sorry if this seems off-topic but in no way do i think it is. clearly bush is applying his fundamentalist views to governance.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:51 pmRe:#169, Susan,
December 20th, 2005 at 6:51 pmI stand corrected. Surprisingly so.
One time I’m glad to be wrong…!
At what point do we citizens take matters into our own hands. It is our sworn duty to defend the Constitution. Bush is pushing and pushing, it seems as if he’s wondering how far he can go before the public storms the White House and drags him out by his heals. Should We the People start figuring out how we would do this when it becomes neccasary?
December 20th, 2005 at 6:54 pmThe events of the last few days makes me wonder if Bubble boy is ready to be impeached.
He couldn’t have thought that we wouldn’t find his statement in 04 could he?
I think Bubble boy wants to resign but his false manlyhood won’t allow it.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:55 pmDo it for Bubble boy, begin impeachement hearings so he can resign. His mental state can’t handle anymore.
if christians actually believed this, we’d be getting somewhere. instead it’s “worship the messenger, ignore the messageâ€
Well, of course and good point. Jesus was a good a Jew afterall and even he would reject trinitarian theology. He worshiped one god, hence “monothesism”. te’ hee. When Christian, say that Jesus wasn’t a Christian, boy are they understating the obvious.
Now pagan’s on the other hand, had men as gods in every story and every piece of literature. Penned in Greek. Like Paul’s gospel. Hmmm….
Sorry a bit off topic – I couldnt help myself. **Ducks thrown fruit***
December 20th, 2005 at 6:58 pm#175 Greenback, here’s a good place to start the “heel dragging”.
This link makes it easy to contact your Senators and Reps to demand impeachment. It’s the only way we will be rid of the dictator.
Do your part now..http://www.millionphonemarch.com/impeach.htm
December 20th, 2005 at 7:02 pmDick Cheney has put in his two cents on the wiretaps: “It is good, solid, sound policy. It is, I’m convinced, one of the reasons we have not been attacked for the last four years. It’s absolutely the right thing to do.”
Isn’t that how they felt about the Iraq war?
December 20th, 2005 at 7:05 pmWhen you have a President who has never been held accountable in his life time, combined with control of congress by his party, the result is that he continues to behave in an unaccountable manner. I doubt bush understands the constitutioinal issues in play and the resulting placement of limits on his authority. He continues to cement his place in American history as the worst president.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:13 pm#173
I’m an Atheist, so I’m beyond believing that you guys can fix the church, but good luck. I don’t mind people who are religious, I mind people who want to force their religion down my throat.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:15 pmlying sack o’ s**t
December 20th, 2005 at 7:17 pmnothing has changed… Bush is as big a liar as ever…
December 20th, 2005 at 7:20 pmWhen you have a President who has never been held accountable in his life time, combined with control of congress by his party, the result is that he continues to behave in an unaccountable manner. I doubt bush understands the constitutioinal issues in play and the resulting placement of limits on his authority. He continues to cement his place in American history as the worst president.
Comment by Southwest Bob
You just described old BJ Bill to a T.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:25 pmBush is a greedy, power-drunk, pathetic, petulant, ineducable, little pissant. And those are his good qualities. Impeach, impeach, impeach!!!
December 20th, 2005 at 7:29 pmIRI is just jealous because bill wouldn’t play with her and her fat blue dress :()
December 20th, 2005 at 7:30 pmIt’s ironic that republicans try to smear a great president based on a private act of consensual sex – and yet they defend a president who smears all american values and the constitution. republicans are truly nazi fools, and unamerican terrorists.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:31 pm#181-
i don’t know so much about changing the church as changing society. i believe that as a species, religion is our last great hangup. faith may be about truth, morality may be about truth, but religion is an institution; religion is about propagating religion.
it’s my hope that the cause of fundamentalism (no matter what religion it advocates) is so completely undermined by this current power grab that it destroys itself.
the rest of us need to be left with such a distaste for it that we’ll no longer accept fundamentalism as a viable ideology in society.
yes, i’m saying fundamentalists should be pariahs – not banned from practicing what they believe, but so marginalized that they don’t have any power and that no one takes them seriously.
fundamentalism is the root of our problem; it’s what keeps us from progressing as a species.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:32 pm#184
It certainly doesn’t bother you or the other righties on here to conjure up his name when you want to justify actions by Bush…
December 20th, 2005 at 7:33 pm#184. . . Hey, in case you are so out of it, that’s really old news. But, you bush lap dogs continue to drag it out every time the bush screws up. You know, we’re hearing a lot about Clinton lately!!! The big problem for bush and you is that time isn’t on your side! Each day brings another discovery of a bush screw up. In case you hadn’t noticed, every repubs are pushing back from this clown.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:39 pmWith this video clip the world now knows what bush looks like when he is lying. Not suprisingly, it’s how he usually looks.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:39 pmMy local NBC News just reported this. I’m so proud.
This isn’t going away. Bubble boy will be impeached.
Comment by Susan — December 20, 2005 @ 6:44 pm
CBS Evening News also had a segment on it. They also played the video from 2004 and compared it to what Bush is saying now.
Two things of note: (1) John Roberts, who reported on this, said that the White House has cautioned Congress on continuing to investigate this. (2) Bob Schieffer (sp?) asked John Roberts, WH correspondent, why the provisions of the Patriot Act didn’t give them the authorization they needed. John said that they hammered “them” (I assume Scotty Mc) on this today, and all they could get out of him was “The president needs all the tools he can get” to fight the war.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:41 pmWhen you have a President who has never been held accountable in his life time, combined with control of congress by his party, the result is that he continues to behave in an unaccountable manner. I doubt bush understands the constitutioinal issues in play and the resulting placement of limits on his authority. He continues to cement his place in American history as the worst president.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:45 pmWhere is the outrage?
Resident Bush had the authority to monitor calls within the US (FISA Section 1803, Paragraph F), yet he decides to eavesdrop secretly and illegally. Who the hell does he think he is? This man needs to be removed from office immediately. If Clinton could be impeached for what he did, then Bush should be impeached, removed from office and jailed. This action is unacceptable in America. He is not above the law. He even admitted his illegal actions on live television. Remember the rallying cry of the Republicans “We must enforce the Rule of Law”. Well, get to it, enforce the rule of law!
December 20th, 2005 at 7:50 pm[Comment deleted by admin]
December 20th, 2005 at 7:50 pmDick Cheney has put in his two cents on the wiretaps: “It is good, solid, sound policy. It is, I’m convinced, one of the reasons we have not been attacked for the last four years. It’s absolutely the right thing to do
“A Wiretap Requires A Court Order. Nothing Has Changed.â€
Bush, April 2004:
In April 2004 it was the wrong thing to do?
Sorry Cheney, you’re as pathetic as Bubble boy.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:51 pmComment #27’s methodology of a Bush story is, in my view,
December 20th, 2005 at 7:52 pmwell taken. If we don’t take on the media institutionally (reregulation)
there’s no mechanism to break this cycle. And in my view,
the valuable internet will be systematically ‘devolved’. This realization was the impetus for my film “Orwell Rolls In His Grave”. TO this end I suggest everyone focus on their nearest 2006 Congressional Election, and push this issue, and election theft – and other middle class issues like the estate tax where the right has no argument – and make them an issue in every congressional election. And in contests where the Democrat is a fraud, go after he or she in the primary. DO not depend on the Iraq outrage, because as Mark Crispin Miller reminded me, Hitler said the public’s ability to forget is huge. A couple of months of pounding and the non informed public won’t be able to draw
a distinction between Bush’s exit strategy and Murtha’s.
And none of this is more serious than lying about a BJ in the White House!
December 20th, 2005 at 7:54 pmImpeach the bastard! And all his friends and the horses they came in on.
#195
This is exactly why I don’t believe you once dated a black girl. Or are sane…
December 20th, 2005 at 7:54 pmHey Beth, who the hell do you think attacked us the first time? Arab terrorists? HAHAHAHAHA
Go buy a bridge.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:01 pmDid anyone else notice Bush put his hand to his ear during the clip…as if to help him bring his focus to what is being said to him through an earpiece. This guy doesn’t speak fluidly without a prompter. Who’s on the other end of Bush earpeice? Karl Rove?
Just an observation
December 20th, 2005 at 8:01 pmNo longer communism no longer the cold war…. hurray to fascism and thanks to the Deutsch Herr Bush und Herr Cheney..
December 20th, 2005 at 8:02 pm#201, Ted,
December 20th, 2005 at 8:07 pmDidn’t you hear? Let me tell you who he is listening to, it is the voice of God.
Ted, remember the square object that protruded from Bubble boys back during the first debate with Kerry?
Same thing. Bubble boy doesnt have a thought of his own.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:21 pmDO NOT PASS GO……. DO NOT COLLECT $200…..gO DIRECTLTY TO JAIL,,,,,,OR…………. THE ‘I’ WORD IS HERE…….
December 20th, 2005 at 8:21 pmdumbazz monkey bubble boy king may think it is GOD, but he is really listening to his mommy – the jackal!
Since mommie has retired as the model for the quaker oats box, she spends most of her time prompting her devil spaun via wireless ear phones, but she is only the messenger. The person directing all this is the Devil Himself – Krash Kart Cheeney!
December 20th, 2005 at 8:27 pmThat is why Cheeney cut his trip to his oil colonies short, to come back home and untangle the strings of the puppet. He is also the one medicating the trained bubbleheaded monkey boy king.
I would give dumbya a BJ so we would have a non-partisan reason to CHIMPEACH, but there are just some thing I won’t touch: REPUGnican NAZIs!
December 20th, 2005 at 8:29 pmAn interesting twist on this issue, the letter written by Sen. Rockefeller, rather presciently, as it turns out, written to Vice D.C. and locked away unless and until just such a spot as we now find ourselves in occured. It puts paid to their pathetically weak assertions that they “briefed Congress” about their new policy, trying to leave the impression, falsely, (of course) that Congress approved of their actions. Back to the drawing board for the Bushies. Oh…. and #184? umm… Republicans took over the Senate in 1994, so your comparison is, shall we say, misleading. As a self-proclaimed believer in telling the truth, I am surprised you missed that one. But panic can cause people to be sloppy, dang ol’details anyhow.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:33 pmLooks like it’s time to raise the Conservative Threat Level:
December 20th, 2005 at 8:34 pm#155
“wow, 139 posts and not one by any wingnut but bi-right-bi. this is a watershed moment in blogging history.”
What can you say when no one in this blog knows what the law says regarding electronic surveillance. Seem like a big circle jerk to me.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:45 pmlooking at patriot act , Google “lil Red Book”
December 20th, 2005 at 8:51 pmget harassed due to their College work?
while aei boobs from bohemia run the state dept freely?
and that atta was known of well before 9/11?
that many have died.
that millions have been lied
for what, political ideology?
while ignoring
other issues
for your greed
neo-kooks what
have you done?
that 8 billion was “lost in IRAQ”
that aegis is shooting at civilians?
that more billions have been lost?
that Halliburton has engorged itself?
mercenaries? Security corps?
Silly Word games? Germanic verse?
that tobacco is terrorist?
the amphetamine thing tacked unto the Patriot act?
wasnt this done before Reagan war on drugs?
the Legal Poverty?
do not border agents already look for drugs?
Why are the number of deaths in Iraq underscored?
where is all this money going?
How can you have an ‘ownership’ society with ‘legalized poverty wages’?
Why do these whom say they are against illegal Americans Hire them?
What is Able Danger?
Why was it Not Used?
Why do we have major Debt
yet give billions away that are not emergencies?
Why do lobbyists hear business first and the majority second?
Why do congressman hear Business first and the majority second?
Why do congressman put wordly posessions before their people?
people dressed in purple?
Nuclear bombs?
upper atmosphere ionic heaters?
what is money really worth?
was the wars worth it?
what have you done?
you know
know you
you
damn you.
Number 209.
That is freaking hilarious. :D
Or is that real..? :\
December 20th, 2005 at 8:53 pmNow we know why dumbya don’t need no stinkin’ laws or constipation – or is that constitution?
Who He’s really spying on:
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Pentagon anti-terror investigators labeled gay law school groups a “credible threat” of terrorism
by John in DC – 12/20/2005 11:35:00 AM
Jesus f-in Christ. This has gone far beyond the pale. We need to do something now, and in massive numbers. I’ve been talking with several of the blogs and politicos in the last few days. This is even worse than I thought.
From the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a great organization that was created ten years ago to help overturn the military’s anti-gay Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.
According to recent press reports, Pentagon officials have been spying on what they call “suspicious” meetings by civilian groups, including student groups opposed to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual military personnel. The story, first reported by Lisa Myers and NBC News last week, noted that Pentagon investigators had records pertaining to April protests at the State University of New York at Albany and William Patterson College in New Jersey. A February protest at NYU was also listed, along with the law school’s LGBT advocacy group OUTlaw, which was classified as “possibly violent” by the Pentagon. A UC-Santa Cruz “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” protest, which included a gay kiss-in, was labeled as a “credible threat” of terrorism.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) condemned the Pentagon surveillance and monitoring. “The Pentagon is supposed to defend the Constitution, not turn it upside down,” said SLDN executive director C. Dixon Osburn. “Students have a first amendment right to protest and Americans have a right to expect that their government will respect our constitutional right to privacy. To suggest that a gay kiss-in is a ‘credible threat’ is absurd, homophobic and irrational. To suggest the Constitution does not apply to groups with views differing with Pentagon policy is chilling.”
In January, the Department of Defense confirmed a report that Air Force officials proposed developing a chemical weapon in 1994 that would turn enemies gay. The proposal, part of a plan from Wright Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, was to develop “chemicals that effect (sic) human behavior so that discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely effected (sic). One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior.” SLDN also condemned that report, and the Pentagon later said it never intended to develop the program.
“The Pentagon seems to constantly find new and more offensive ways to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” said Osburn. “First, we were deemed unfit to serve our country, despite winning wars, medals and the praise of fellow service members. Then, our sexual orientation was suggested as a means to destabilize the enemy. Now, our public displays of affection are equated with al Qaeda terrorist activity. It is time for new Pentagon policy consistent with the views of 21st century America.”
SLDN announced it plans to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to learn if it or other LGBT organizations have also been monitored by the Pentagon. To date, only a small portion of DoD’s total database of information has been made public.
Sources that show the Pentagon keeping tabs on gay groups include this news report:
A secret Pentagon document obtained by NBC News reveals that the military has been spying on what they call “suspicious” civilian meetings – including many “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” protests.
Only eight pages from the four-hundred page document have been released so far. But on those eight pages, Sirius OutQ News discovered that the Defense Department has been keeping tabs NOT just on anti-war protests, but also on seemingly non-threatening protests against the military’s ban on gay servicemembers. According to those first eight pages, Pentagon investigators kept tabs on April protests at UC-Santa Cruz, State University of New York at Albany, and William Patterson College in New Jersey. A February protest at NYU was also listed, along with the law school’s gay advocacy group “OUTlaw,” and was classified as “possibly violent.”
All of these protests were against the military’s policy excluding gay personnel, and against the presence of military recruiters on campus. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network says the Pentagon needs to explain why “don’t ask, don’t tell” protesters are considered a threat.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:54 pmTo paraphrase one of our finest legal minds, may he rest in peace:
December 20th, 2005 at 8:55 pmSpying on citizens without judicial oversight IS an overreach,
for which you MUST impeach!
is someone going to keep a list. i am getting overwhelmed with all the corruption and need to be reminded daily of additions to the list of wrongs this administration is charged with, have been proven and how they justify their lies and shredding of the Constitution. help-we need an update everyday to send to info@ap.org. to be sure they are updated.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:56 pm#When we have all those that dissent in the prisions and working at the jobs none of us of pure white want to do it will indeed be a good day.
When those in the prisions get too feeble to work, we shall do what our founder did.
Long live der Bush! He will make the world a whiter, better place with REAL Christian values. He has shown the world that WHITE is RIGHT! Vote Right!
Comment by I-RIGHT-I — December 20, 2005 @ 7:50 pm
You are a foolish person I right I, you base your life and the things you see based solely on material basis, you have no idea of the Hatred you are causing and the far reaching effects of your ignorant bloviating stupidity and greed which shall mean nothing for a hundred years.
You shall try to call me a ‘tin-hat’ person in your ignorant defiance and prologues of false dependence upon your Fiat Deities.
You have thus had your nut twisted inside out, you shall not know today what was said or written. Soon your Self induced wisdom may, perhaps will coming flying back to you in ways that YOU cannot imagine, nay, refuse.
Its upon you.
December 20th, 2005 at 9:05 pmAmplification of my previous post (210). I didn’t mean to imply that the NY Times broke this story out of the goodness of their heart, a vital organ I wouldn’t even attribute to them. I said — because “more and more people are catching on.” As Ms. Smith so brilliantly queries at:.
http://www.buzzflash.com/smith/05/12/smi05077.html
is there perhaps one man the NY Times fears more than they fear Bush? And does his name start with “F”? — Now who would that be? Fitzgerald? Yeah, I think Fitz is catching on to their game pretty good.
December 20th, 2005 at 9:20 pmCan we say “IMPEACHMENT”
December 20th, 2005 at 9:26 pmok
IMPEACHMENT
:D
How’s that?
December 20th, 2005 at 9:30 pmDecember 20th, 2005 at 9:30 pm
http://by106fd.bay106.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/getmsg?msg=53C75F01-B1FE-4608-9E09-202D21B7B06D&start=0&len=8308&imgsafe=n&curmbox=00000000%2d0000%2d0000%2d0000%2d000000000001&a=b8027862184efc83ba10e31505b3076a32ee6cd451da66f07610d7901b5c5b0e
December 20th, 2005 at 9:44 pm“#When we have all those that dissent in the prisions and working at the jobs none of us of pure white want to do it will indeed be a good day.
When those in the prisions get too feeble to work, we shall do what our founder did.
Long live der Bush! He will make the world a whiter, better place with REAL Christian values. He has shown the world that WHITE is RIGHT! Vote Right!”
Holy shit, someone shoot this asshole before he multiplies! I think this would be the best use of a pre-emptive strike!
December 20th, 2005 at 9:46 pmIraqis Glad 2005 Over, Dim Hopes for 2006
*Inter Press Service*
Dahr Jamail and Arkan Hamed
*BAGHDAD, Dec 20 (IPS) – Despite the parliamentary elections last week
and temporary ease in violence, Iraqis remain bitter about the outgoing
year, and sceptical of 2006.*
“As a doctor I usually travel daily from home to college,” said Um
Feras, a doctor of physics at Baghdad University who asked that her last
name be changed for her protection. “2005 was a terrible year, and now
it has become unacceptable for me to leave my house to go teach due to
the troops, who always where sunglasses even on gloomy days, aiming
their rifles at everyone like they are gangsters.”
The majority of Iraqis in Baghdad now fear the security forces, as
dozens of people each week are “disappeared” by police and soldiers
around the city and new torture chambers have been discovered recently.
Dr. Feras told IPS that the daily chaos on the streets of Baghdad, such
as closed roads and bridges, always caused her to be late, as well as
most of her students.
“Nothing is good in Iraq now,” said the doctor. “Torture, detained
friends, pillaging of houses, seeing neighbors suffering from poverty,
no electricity, no water and gun fights everywhere. We have no relief
from this suffering now.”
Electricity in Baghdad remains far below pre-war levels, with most
houses enjoying 3-5 hours per day. Meanwhile, oil exports in December
have sunk to a two-year low while up to 22 percent of the 21 billion
dollar set aside by the U.S. government for reconstruction projects in
Iraq has been diverted to security, according to Dan Speckhard, the
director of the Iraq reconstruction management office, who made the
announcement to reporters earlier this month.
Asked about her hopes and expectations for 2006, the doctor says: “I
only want a normal life far away from the interests of those bastards
who invaded our country. I don’t care about the elections and politics
and the new political parties because these are just a small part of the
strategy of the invaders.”
The doctor began to cry then added: “My dream for the coming year is
that the invaders pull out, we have Iraqis who love one another to
govern Iraq, we build something related to civilization and have
emotions towards our land and lives in order to get back to the
situation where each of us loves the other and we feel the good will of
God.”
She paused for reflection before saying, “But I can’t say this will happen.”
Other Iraqis, like 40 year-old leather worker Ismael Mohammed feel
similarly.
“2005 was worse than 2004 because the coalition forces are still
handling everything tightly in their hands and nothing has changed
except the faces of the governors,” he told IPS in Baghdad, “They are
trying to get everything they can from Iraq, meanwhile financially it is
getting worse, fuel [availability] is worse and the roads are worse.”
His feelings about the infrastructure are common around Baghdad, as Iraq
is suffering an unemployment rate of over 50 percent, oil exports remain
below pre-war levels, and the infrastructure remains in shambles amidst
the broken promises of the Bush Administration.
“Democracy? Where is our democracy?” asked Mohammed who said his best
day of 2005 was when one of his cousins was released from Abu Ghraib,
“Freedom? People shout with no one to hear. Everything goes with a bribe
now. You want to be a professor-easy, just give me the money and you are
a professor.”
Mohammed told IPS he remains sad and perplexed as to why his cousin was
recently killed. “We are Shia. Yet he was killed.”
And he asks: “Who profits from this constitution because we already had
one? Who is profiting from all of this? Iraqi leather used to be the
best all over the Middle East, but now it even seems as though the rain
has stopped falling in Iraq, as my trade has stopped growing. Now we
even have to import leather!”
According to the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington-based think
tank, the value of Halliburton stock, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney’s
old military company to which he still has financial ties, has increased
138 percent since March 2003. Halliburton has been awarded at least 10
billion dollar in contracts for their operations in Iraq.
Meanwhile, U.S. citizens aren’t benefiting from the occupation either.
The average monthly cost of the Iraq war for the U.S. is 5.6 billion
dollar for a total of over 225 billion dollar thus far, pushing their
national debt over 8 trillion dollar, according to the U.S. Department
of Treasury. For 2006, Mohammed voiced the dreams of many Iraqis.
“To get rid of the invaders and have God give back blessings to the
people of Iraq,” Mohammed told IPS. “We want good people in positions of
authority who will compensate Iraqis who have suffered. I would like to
see Iraqis work as one unit, putting the good of the country ahead of
divisions between them and to go on dealing as humans.”
Mohammed added: “We need a lot of work to obtain true sovereignty and to
cure the problems brought by the invaders, as independence isn’t so easy
that we can get it in one year. Democracy cannot be given as simple as
that; we have to work hard for it and educate people to get it.”
_______________________________________________
(c)2004, 2005 Dahr Jamail.
All images, photos, photography and text are protected by United States and
international copyright law. If you would like to reprint Dahr’s Dispatches on
the web, you need to include this copyright notice and a prominent link to the
http://DahrJamailIraq.com website. Website by photographer Jeff Pflueger’s
Photography Media http://jeffpflueger.com . Any other use of images,
photography, photos and text including, but not limited to, reproduction, use on
another website, copying and printing requires the permission of Dahr Jamail. Of
course, feel free to forward Dahr’s dispatches via email.
More writing, commentary, photography, pictures and images at
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December 20th, 2005 at 9:46 pmto the email list.
Will you still be saying the same things should there be another terrorist attack that kills 100’s of Americans?
Who cares about how many are killed? Seriously. Many thousands of people are killed by drunk drivers, and the Bush Admin has at least 3 such convictions that we know of. The number of people murdered by governments who had the same authority as Bush now claims to have? We’re talking at least a hundred MILLION in the last century alone.
Bush is a far greater threat to America than is al-Quaeda. FAR greater. There’s not even a comparison
December 20th, 2005 at 9:49 pmHistory points the way. Those who refuse to glean the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. We will not be the first or last global empire to collapse.
On a side note, people of the aristocratic persuasion in this country – like our esteemed President – would do well to review history as it relates to societal collapses and the effects on the upper class caste.
Best of luck…
December 20th, 2005 at 9:54 pmSo let’s all get involved…
Make sure that there isn’t a rock small enough for any Senator or Congressman to hide under without hearing the words “Investigate and Impeach George W. Bush NOW!!!”
Here is the letter I sent to my representatives yesterday (before Slippery George’s latest lie was uncovered:)
—
FISA makes it a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, to conduct electronic surveillance except as provided for by statute. The only defense is for law enforcement agents engaged in official duties conducting “surveillance authorized by and conducted pursuant to a search warrant or court order.” [50 U.S.C. § 1809]
I sincerely hope that YOU will be among those leading the charge to fully investigate the criminal activity of all members of the Bush Administration in their obvious and blatant actions in full violation of the Fourth Amendment and established Federal Law. If it were true that an Executive Order was signed authorizing these crimes against American citizens, I would expect every Senator and Congressman to demand George W. Bush’s resignation no later than February 1st, 2006 and failing that to support the presentation of Articles of Impeachment no later than March 1st, 2006.
The time has come for YOU to take a stand as I did when I wore the uniform of my country overseas in the US Navy in defense of the Constitution of the United States of America…
Please demonstrate that you believe in our law by prosecuting the crimes of the lawless, God-less and un-American Bush Administration in this matter.
Either you are for the U.S. Constitution or against it. There is no room on the fence in this matter. Please show this constituent by your actions in the coming days that you are not willing to become a passive accomplice to these crimes.
—
OR – Find your own words and don’t let up… Back the Attack until “Slippery” George and “Big Dick” Cheney CRACK!
December 20th, 2005 at 9:56 pmAre we a nation of complete rubes? How many times do the American people have to be 3 card Montied before they stop coming back for more? We are being treated with hubris, arrogance and contempt by a President who is a compulsive liar. The time for impeachment is now.
December 20th, 2005 at 9:57 pm#227 Ratpuppy,
Here’s a link to send to everyone in your address book. Post it on every blog you visit.
This link makes it easy to write or call your Reps and Senators to demand impeachment hearings.
I suggest everyone let them know that if they do not begin impeachment hearings immediately they will not get your vote.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:04 pmhttp://www.millionphonemarch.com/impeach.htm
Wake up America! This “guy” this President, is taking away your freedom step-by-step. He really does believe that he can do anything that he wants! King George has returned!
Ken Ubsdell in Oakland, CA
December 20th, 2005 at 10:05 pmImpeachment is the only answer. Bush’s crimes are now legion, and his incompetence is costing us more each day, on a hundred levels at once. The problem besides the conservative news media is that so many lemmings did vote for him and apparently many still back him, and the criminal republican party holds the cards in the government, for now. We of the sane who know Bush is a loser and a criminal are in the majority. May God help all the rest to see the light and provoke congress to impeach him. Let us pray. We do need a miracle, and we know that God is not on Bush’s side, no matter how he uses the name in vain for political expediency to please his hollow hypocritical “Christian” right.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:08 pmtracy (#210),
i think you will find few lawyers here, but it’s not like there aren’t reputable lawyers that have publicly noted this program could be illegal.
there are also enough senators on both sides of the aisle raising the issue that any right-winger should at least have cause to worry. but that’s fine, right-wingers don’t admit their mistakes. there’s one root cause of all evil in the world as far as right-wingers are concerned, and that’s “liberals”. how nice to be able to boil it all down to one simple-to-identify, easily persecutable group!
and when it comes to bush, it’s see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil…
December 20th, 2005 at 10:12 pm#216, I read it. Wow.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:41 pm#215, karin, you’re right — we need a list. There are too many crimes, infringements, and other abuses to keep updated.
#232
Hey if Bush is found to have broken the law I will be right there asking for his impeachment!…but according to almost everyone in this blog Bush is already guilty even though the law seems to say otherwise.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:59 pm# 53: “Now, I’ve only read some of these comments, but it stikes me that you all need to think more carefully. Will you still be saying the same things should there be another terrorist attack that kills 100’s of Americans? If so, wonderful; if not, perhaps you shouldn’t have posted at all! Comment by Beth — December 20, 2005 @ 4:40 pm “”
HEY YOU IDIOT – 911 would not have happened if BUSH wasn’t around to begin with. One fact – an Experienced pilot with 30 years experience couldn’t fly an Airliner into a building like that. What makes anyone think a Dork from the MiddleEast that can’t fly a Teeny-Weeny 2-seat plane can handle a Huge Airliner ??? DDUUUUHHHHH !!! Now do your own investigation on the internet and find out about the hundreds of other lie’s that have been happening.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:01 pmDoes anybody else feel like a mark when they hear Bush talk about how he’s protecting our constitutional rights while fighting only the terrorists? Do we have “Kick me” on our backsides?
December 20th, 2005 at 11:06 pmGuess that mouth caught up w/ you @ last W. All the lies, all the
coke, all the deals, and you who were born on third base and thought
you hit a triple told one more lie.
Your fall is a given now W, the only question is when and how far
will it be.
But you were always a rat W, might as well start ratting out the rest.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:08 pmDaddy was strong you aren’t.
Reading through all the 233 comments, there is a significant amount of intelligent insight on the antics of your Chimp in Chief and his banana-sucking cohorts. However, if you read the thread of red-necked, right-wing neo-Nazi trash spewing from the hole of I-Rght-I; this is one “kanuduian” who is incensed and outraged like most Ex-American ‘allies’ with the absolute bigotry, terrorist state antics amd statements like – pure white what…ayrans?…i thought he meant assholes! People like him should have their guns from the “right to bear arms” tuffed up their asses till they shit in them, then pull the trigger! The world would have one less idioten and more respect from the civilized world. Hope he goes to the Hell he deserves along with Dubya Chimp!
One fed up Canuck, Ontario CANADA!
December 20th, 2005 at 11:09 pmFISA contradicts AG Gonzales
by Harold Lippes
December 20th, 2005 at 11:28 pmOur Attorney General appeared on national television today and tried to justify the President’s use of wiretaps on US citizens by stating that the Congress implicitly authorized the wiretaps when it voted to authorize the war on September 14, 2001. AG Gonzales apparently forgot to read the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or intentionally ignored it.
Section 1811 of the act is entitled “Authorization during time of war.” It states, “Notwithstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this subchapter to acquire foreign intelligence information for a period not to exceed 15 calendar days following a declaration of war by the Congress.”
If someone can convince the Attorney General to read FISA, tell him to start with the definitions. The act protects (or should protect) anyone who is lawfully living in the United States — not just “citizens”.
Harold Lippes
I finally read the law. I thought I could just bluff my way through this blog, like the bush.
I am way more stupid than he and his handlers. I stand corrected and feel even more of an azz since I have been listening to lie-wrong-lie.
We are in dire need of electroshock treatments.
My apologies to all, and it won’t happen again.
Revolted republican, I thank you for showing us FACTS. This so called administration knows nothing of true facts, only lies and spin and corruption.
I now support Chimpeachment.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:39 pmCongress did Not declare WAR ….
December 20th, 2005 at 11:40 pmThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
December 20th, 2005 at 11:56 pmeffects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.
Hey you americans! when are you going to have ball enough to get rid of this clown?
December 21st, 2005 at 12:08 amListen to Frank Zappas; Joe’s Garage-the Central Scrutinizer is alive and well enforcing the laws that haven’t been written yet. Wish you were still here Frank.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:15 amMusic is the best-FZ
#240
Is that the best you got liar?
December 21st, 2005 at 12:16 amto 244
December 21st, 2005 at 12:17 amWe have ball, now need chain
#235
“One fact – an Experienced pilot with 30 years experience couldn’t fly an Airliner into a building like that.”
What ever pilot you are referring to sucks! My brother pilots E3 Sentry AWACS (a Boeing 707 airframe) based out of Tinker AFB and he said what the terrorists did was TOTALLY possible. LOL!
December 21st, 2005 at 12:23 am[Comment deleted by admin]
December 21st, 2005 at 12:29 am[Comment deleted by admin]
December 21st, 2005 at 12:31 am[Comment deleted by admin]
December 21st, 2005 at 12:33 amIn name of a human living on this planet I ask to the American people to please get rid of George W. Bush a put the light on the satanist governement that is in place now. We all know that letting these persons reign will lead us to the end…
December 21st, 2005 at 12:45 amPeople, please, a simple thing like un-authorized wire-taps that violate bush’s pledge to up-hold the Consitution are going to be his “Waterloo”? Come on … there are at least 18 impeachable offences to date, that we kow of. Not to mention international crimes against like illegal invasion, torture, murder, rape of children, shall I go on? Not that bush did these things himself, but like a Mafia boss, he’s accountable for all he ordered. At least one can hope.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:47 amBut no … nothing will happen until we get off our fat asses and march in such numbers that even bush’s “security” and the MSM could ignore the voice of the people.
dear tracy,
you’re obviously not up to the challenge. when someone’s trying to have a civil debate with you, coming back with “is that the best you got liar?” isn’t exactly what’s known as intelligent.
just some advice.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:52 am“Pond scum … even less. What’s less than pond scum?”
The anti-USA morons who support the codpiece-in-chief, of course. Pond scum scrapes the bushistas off their shoes with great disgust when it has the misfortune of stepping in bush.
And in the future, please stop insulting honest pond scum by mentioning it in context with the bushistas.
Pond scum never lied us into a war, never took food out of the mouths of poor children to give tax breaks to the rich, never killed for profit, never trashed the USA constitution, never violated an oath of office- the list is endless!
And unlike the ignorant citizens of the USA, pond scum would have chimpeached the bushistas right after 9/11 for refusing to protect USA citizens.
I can respect pond scum, but not bush supporters.
December 21st, 2005 at 1:05 am#253, anyone can pick the nickname of somemone, to me, it seem like this…
December 21st, 2005 at 1:09 am#125:
“you’re in suspension”
Actually, it’s “you’re in suspicion”
(I used to have hair that could cause sever tire damage- Hell- I used to have hair:-) )
Heh! Thanx for the memory!
December 21st, 2005 at 1:11 amHang him by his thumbs until he gets his head out of his ass.
December 21st, 2005 at 1:14 amIt is gratifying to see/hear the awakening of the citizens of the used-to-be-republic before every privilige and right held so dearly is taken away by the corrupt warlords that are ruling the castle. The rest of the world watches in astonishment as more and more corruption and evil-doing is exposed. Why is he not being called to account? He stole two elections, he will steal the rest with his counting machines. All empires come to an end, usually in tatters. And his predecessor was just about impeached for oral sex? Grow up America!! Go get the monster who sits and heh-hehs evilly at you all!!!
December 21st, 2005 at 1:37 amWhat I don’t quite understand is WHY. It seems that your “Bush League” president could get any wiretap warrant that he could want, at any time. So why not do it the right way rather than risk the kind of flak he’s enduring right now. Is it arrogance or laziness that makes this guy work?
December 21st, 2005 at 1:42 am#259, this idiot-in-THIEF is lazy, arrogant evil and corrupt. He has been a scew-up his entire read entire life!
As a small child he would torture animals, birds, frogs, cats and dogs as well as any other animal he was faster than. He actually sacrificed a cat in a satanic ritual (fake or otherwise it is twisted) and his family swept it under the carpet. His so called childhood friends actually admit this, and the original story has been edited and sanitized. I have the actual first account before it was changed.
Now most little boys that torture animals don’t grow up to be selected as pResident, they usually grow up to be serial killers. Jeffery Dahlmer tortured animals, just think with the right family he could be in the white whore house now.
December 21st, 2005 at 1:54 amWell people, what did you ever expect from a man of the reputation of the Bush family? His Grandfather traded with Hitler, during the war! And that was while his own son was physically present with US forces in the Pacific theater!
December 21st, 2005 at 2:06 amA TRAITOR from a family of TRAITORS, noothing new in any of that.
Like father like son, like grandson.
What can you say really. Gw’s actions and this administration is over the top. We need to wake up and take this country back. Impeach him.
December 21st, 2005 at 2:29 amWatch the cornered serpent squirm.
December 21st, 2005 at 2:30 amBUSTED!
December 21st, 2005 at 2:48 amTHis Congress doesn’t have the you know what to about this Administration. It’s like the Dems have to ;crash and burn’ befor they get it right. If this were the other way around YOU know things woulg go all the way to IMPEACHMENT.
December 21st, 2005 at 2:51 amwell, looks like Hastert will be president for the next 3 years soon
3rd in line
Since Bush will get impeached and then chenny (for lieing about getting congressional approval)
December 21st, 2005 at 5:33 amWhat I don’t understand is why our Democratic government officials, let this monster, gw bush get by with the lies and corruption that he is allowed to get by with?
December 21st, 2005 at 5:37 amFailures, 911, no wmd’s, Iraq, hurricane katrina and NOW domestic wiretapping.
And no one is doing a dam thing about him. Cindy Sheehan, a middle aged civilian woman, who lost her son in Iraq, was the first one to DO SOMETHING, AND SPEAK UP about how wrong this war is.
Come on, Democrats/Liberals/Greens, we need to do something.
WE DO HAVE A MADMAN ON THE LOOSE. (gw bush).
Tracy,
Hello? Bush ADMITTED it… That makes him GUILTY. Nothing left to do but debate what should happen to him…
December 21st, 2005 at 9:06 amThe New York Times sat on this for a year[long enough to make sure it did not affect Bush's re-election] Had they published this BEFORE the 2004 election, would we even have this administration in office? They have betrayed America, just as Bush has. Former Presidential Counsel John Dean[Counsel to Nixon] told Nancy Pelosi”George W Bush is the first President in history to admit to an impeachable offense” So why isnt it happening? Is this heavily Republican government just going to let him get away with it? Of course the loaded Republican Courts will allow it to happen. This is truly frightening times in America as we see the entire nature of our democracy changing[George W Bush stated “I wouldnt mind a dictatorship, as long as I get to be the Dictator”
December 21st, 2005 at 9:17 amthis guy has…squandered every drop of credibility America had around the world, lied to Americans, created a climate of fear, probably violated the constitution, left us vulnerable to the potential threats of iran and north korea and done it all while being a blatant bafoon
December 21st, 2005 at 9:34 amNow, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wire…tap
I love it when a half-wit tries to sound like he’s smarter than everyone he’s talking to.
December 21st, 2005 at 10:16 amBush said:
Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.
Well since that was a lie about getting court orders I guess it was a lie about them valueing the Constitution.
December 21st, 2005 at 10:26 amAnother GOP scandal is about to erupt. Abramoff will squeal on members of Congress. Some Dems might go down too, but if they are as dirty as the Republicans, let them go to the same hell. Check out Raw Story.com
RAW STORY.COM
December 21st, 2005 at 11:25 amGUERILLA MEDIA:
1. Uing the labelmaker program on your computer, print as many sheets as you have of labels with only the word ”IMPEACH”
2. Print ”IMPEACH” bold and in as large a font as the label will hold
3. Carry a sheet of printed labels all day during the day
4. Stick a label with the word ”IMPEACH” on public eyelevel surfaces wherever you go
5. Repeat every day until one or all of Bush, Cheney, Rice, and Rumsfeld is impeached.
December 21st, 2005 at 11:38 amHey folks, I’m jus trying to protect the good Americans from terriers. I got to do everything in my power, and alot of stuff that ain’t in my power to do that. Now, by good Americans, I don’t mean those poor folks that lost their homes in the hurricanes, and I don’t mean all those folks under the median income that just have their hand out to the government. Damn, feeding and housing them is like filling up a bucket when the bottom leaks! There’s lots of new service jobs out there, these folks can get two or three jobs to get by. They can also take their military age household members and get ‘em to sign up to see the world, then they don’t have to clothe and feed em. Heck, I even went to Iraq for a photo op with a plastic turkey to show just how well they were being fed. Nevermind that their turkey came in a plastic boil-in-bag. Those bags just don’t look good on camera, besides, these new fangled digital cameras might have picked up the expiration date on the food. Like these brave soldiers blinded with patriotism don’t have enough to worry about as it is, like being blown up by roadside IUD’s or something.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:03 pmBut don’t you worry about me and my PNAC buddies, we will prevail, and we will achive victory over the constitution and the insurgents, we will achive victory in spite of democracy, be it over here or in some god forsaken oil rich nation.
Yours in Faith
God Less you
GW Bush
Karl Rove believes that liberals are supporting terrorists. Therefore, anyone who disagrees with Bush can be considered by them to be intending to help Al Qaeda or other enemies. Obviously, the wiretapping is extremely useful to this administration for its potential to spy on and defeat political adversaries at home. This bunch is the last group of people that we should trust with this kind of power.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:09 pmI-Right-I is right. I’m only trying to purtect you from gay, married terrists with nucular weapons. Evildoers who hate our freedom and despise democracy. Now look into my beady eyes and watch my hands. You are getting sleepy. Your memories are being wiped clean. Now give me your freedom and rights so I can keep them safe for you.
“Madmen play on words and make us all dance to their song, to the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun” – 2 Minutes to Midnight by Iron Maiden
December 21st, 2005 at 12:37 pm#276
God Less you
GW Bush
‘Less you’ is about right for Peeping George’s motto
December 21st, 2005 at 1:13 pm#276
Hey folks, I’m jus trying to protect the good Americans from terriers.
Oh yeah, I’m scared of ‘terriers’ – nasty little ankle biters!
December 21st, 2005 at 1:14 pmThe bozo actually sent a letter of condolence to a grieving mother who had lost her son in Iraq and signed it “God less You”
December 21st, 2005 at 1:16 pm#281
Why doesn’t that surprise me…
December 21st, 2005 at 1:17 pmWhen you take away his brain(Rove), and take away his muscle(Cheney), what’s left? Just an asshole.
December 21st, 2005 at 4:53 pmBAM Beeeotch!
HOW ‘BOUT THAT HOWARD DEAN!
Somebody change Bushiva’s diaper…
December 21st, 2005 at 7:08 pmHey if Bush is found to have broken the law I will be right there asking for his impeachment!…but according to almost everyone in this blog Bush is already guilty even though the law seems to say otherwise.
Comment by Tracy
“Trashy”,
Lemme guess, you’ve been shipwrecked on Gilligan’s Island for the last five years…right?
December 21st, 2005 at 7:18 pmWhat can you say when no one in this blog knows what the law says regarding electronic surveillance. Seem like a big circle jerk to me.
Comment by Tracy — December 20, 2005 @ 8:45 pm
This coming from the expert who didn’t understand the explanation about how the wiretapping can begin but the warrant can be obtained legally within 72hrs:
I am sure that the terrorists appreciate the fact that they have three days in order to make their calls or send their e-mails!
Comment by Tracy — December 20, 2005 @ 1:26 pm
And who still does not understand Pres Bush has admitted he did not seek a warrant, and has claimed he does not need one at all -contrary to the opinion of constitutional scholars and the Senate’s Intelligence Committee.
but according to almost everyone in this blog Bush is already guilty even though the law seems to say otherwise.
Comment by Tracy — December 20, 2005 @ 10:59 pm
Tracy, if it were perfectly legal, there would be no bi-partisan calls for an inquiry: U.S. senators seek probe of Bush’s eavesdropping orders
Both parties want eavesdropping probe
Pressure builds for Bush spying probe
December 21st, 2005 at 7:36 pmWhat can you say when no one in this blog knows what the law says regarding electronic surveillance. Seem like a big circle jerk to me. Comment by Tracy — December 20, 2005 @ 8:45 pm
Tracy: You’ve commented many times, are you just having fun or something!
December 21st, 2005 at 7:43 pm#253
The entire text above was NOT written by me. The liar who wrote #240 was someone trying to pass it off by signing my name. The following was made up by some low life with nothing better to do:
“I finally read the law. I thought I could just bluff my way through this blog, like the bush.
I am way more stupid than he and his handlers. I stand corrected and feel even more of an azz since I have been listening to lie-wrong-lie.
We are in dire need of electroshock treatments.
My apologies to all, and it won’t happen again.
Revolted republican, I thank you for showing us FACTS. This so called administration knows nothing of true facts, only lies and spin and corruption.
I now support Chimpeachment.”
…”you’re obviously not up to the challenge. when someone’s trying to have a civil debate with you”
Please tell me what in #240, considering it was made up by someone else, is civil about signing someone else’s name to something you wrote?
December 21st, 2005 at 7:52 pm“This coming from the expert who didn’t understand the explanation about how the wiretapping can begin but the warrant can be obtained legally within 72hrs:”
I was referring to all of those who have ALREADY arrogantly come to the conclusion that Bush broke the law even before the congressional investigation has even started. Does this include you also, considering you aren’t a legal expert either?
“Tracy, if it were perfectly legal, there would be no bi-partisan calls for an inquiry:”
A congressional inquiry is not an indictment or accusation of any wrong doing. It is an investigation to determine if any law was broken, i.e. they aren’t sure and if they were they would be asking for impeachment proceedings to start.
December 21st, 2005 at 8:05 pmDoes this include you also, considering you aren’t a legal expert either?
Comment by Tracy — December 21, 2005 @ 8:05 pm
I am not the one striking a sanctimonious tone -berating everyone for not knowing the law. Talk about arrogance and hypocrisy.
A congressional inquiry is not an indictment or accusation of any wrong doing.
Again, thanks for the civics lesson. I am going to repeat myself: if the wiretaps were perfectly legal, no one would be asking for an inquiry because there would be need for any.
they aren’t sure and if they were they would be asking for impeachment proceedings to start.
Even if they were sure, Congress would still need an inquiry first, in order to dig up all the facts.
I am no expert in matters of the law, but when constitutional scholars say something smells rotten, I tend to believe them:
Conservative Scholars Argue Bush’s Wiretapping Is An Impeachable Offense
To make things clear: What I am saying is that since Pres Bush has admitted to have bypassed the law, and claimed to be able to do whatever he wants to without oversight, you are being disingenuous when insisting we don’t know whether or not there was wrongdoing.
December 21st, 2005 at 8:28 pmBush says “Trust us, we am protecting your civil liberties.”
Valerie Plame trusted the Bush White House. And, who does it turn out was right about WMD, Bush or Valerie’s husband? The big Christian hasn’t apologized for the personal and national security affront even when he knows he was wrong. This is the increased ethics Bush promised us in his campaign?
btw- where is Osama, the culprit behind 9/11. What have we done about Saudi Arabia, the funders of 9/11 and still spreading radical Islam?
December 22nd, 2005 at 2:44 pm#290
“Even if they were sure, Congress would still need an inquiry first, in order to dig up all the facts.”
Exactly which is why an inquiry is not an indictment or accusation of any wrong doing. An inquiry is a fact finding mission used by those who are not CLEAR on the law. If they, i.e. Congress, were sure of criminal wrong doing impeachment proceedings would immediately begin.
December 22nd, 2005 at 10:44 pmTracy writes:
Exactly which is why an inquiry is not an indictment or accusation of any wrong doing. An inquiry is a fact finding mission used by those who are not CLEAR on the law. If they, i.e. Congress, were sure of criminal wrong doing impeachment proceedings would immediately begin.
This is naiive in the extreme. A Congressional investigation can be just as much a cover-up and a white-wash as a real and impatial investigation of the facts.
What you have to keep in mind that this is a Republican controlled Congress investigating a Republican president. This is also a Congress that has refused to investigate this president on anything at all. They have forfieted their role of overseeing the actions of this president, which is exactly why we have gotten to this point.
The only reason they are investigating him now is because he has very obviously broken the law, and now the Republicans need to find a way out of this mess. They are going to do everything they can to rationalize and gloss over what he has done. The Republicans in Congress aren’t interested in getting at the truth – they are looking for a way around the truth. These hearings are for the benefit of people like yourself – those who WANT to believe that Bush hasn’t broken the law. They are going to use every argument and angle they can to at least muddy the waters sufficiently so that you are too confused to know what really happened.
The very last thing the Republicans intend to do is impeach Bush, since that would be a disaster for them in the upcoming elections. So they are going to do everything they possibly can to make sure that never happens – no matter how many laws Bush breaks, or how many times he pisses on the Constitution.
December 23rd, 2005 at 3:04 am#293
So when there were Congressional inquiries into allegations of abuses of campaign fundraising by Clinton in 1996 those weren’t clear indications of criminal activity by bubba? There were never any charges brought against him.
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/11/30/impeachment/
How about Clinton’s impeachment inquiry for lying to a federal grand jury? Lying to a grand jury is a clear indication of criminal wrong doing.
“So they are going to do everything they possibly can to make sure that never happens – no matter how many laws Bush breaks, or how many times he pisses on the Constitution.”
Shall we go over how many time Clinton broke the law or pissed on the Constitution?…or is that irrelevant?
December 23rd, 2005 at 11:42 amI’m bemused(look it up) by the range and rage of the comments.Leaving aside the multitude of law profs(Hewitt and Sunstein are on obviously different political sides) who think this is a non starter,the DOJ has released its paper,the Powerline guys ,who are very bright,what strikes me is the non intellects involved above.GWB’s grandfather,people should print “impeach”,dobie (although perhaps he’s also mispelled his name) writing GWB is a “a bafoon”.Look,when I was in college,,we used to say about people who were intellectually challenged that they were liberal arts majors.I see what happened to you guys when the shift is over at BK
December 23rd, 2005 at 4:57 pmHappy Holidays, everyone. I’m having some difficulty understanding the title of this post: “Bush Caught on Tape….” The implication seems to be that Bush was caught doing something wrong, such as lying. However it’s obvious from the quoted paragraph that Bush was NOT lying. Can anyone help me here?
Bush was discussing roving wiretaps, and the NSA has not obtained ANY roving wiretaps in the U.S. without a warrant. So, Bush was being completely honest.
Of course, someone could accuse Bush of lying if a single sentence is taken out of context: “Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order.”
But is it really fair to take a sentence out of context? Of course not.
One could just as easily take the next Bush sentence out of context: “When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so.” But everyone has known for decades that police and soldiers chase down terrorists and other criminals without getting a warrant first. Why wasn’t anyone accusing Bush of lying about warrantless chases, immediately after his speech in April of 2004? Because it’s not fair to take sentences out of context!
It’s clear that Bush was talking about the Patriot Act, not the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and he was talking about roving wiretaps. Of course, if Bush had said in his speech that “the NSA is conducting a top secret surveillance program that involves unwarranted wiretaps of certain international phone calls from Al Qaeda to people in the United States,” then Think Progress would be complaining that Bush was a lunatic instead of a liar.
December 24th, 2005 at 10:08 pmBTW, I’m not even sure that the sentence in question could be considered a lie when taken out of context. “Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order.” Bush was talking about wiretaps that “you hear” about, which arguably excludes top secret wiretaps that no one outside the government ever hears about.
Anyway, if anyone can think of an honest example of an instance where Bush has intentionally lied to the American people, I’d very much appreciate learning about it. Thanks.
December 24th, 2005 at 10:19 pmAndrew, everytime Bush opens his mouth he lies. It just amazes me that the same hypocrites who ridiculed Clinton over and over for saying “it depends upon what the meaning of the word Is, is”, they are now trying to parse Bush’s words to pretend he was telling the truth. It is laughable that you would ever suggest that Bush was telling his audience that the goverment can piss on the Constitution and spy on Americans without a warrant as long as they never find out about it, when actually he was trying to reassure Americans of precicely the opposite.
I don’t know whether the extreme right lacks the ablility to think and reason clearly, or that they only want us to think that they do. In either case, it is abundantly clear that they cannott be trusted with protecting the Constitutional rights and freedoms of every American, and hopefully, after all the crimes that Bush has committed in office, and if we are lucky enough to survive the next three years, America will never again make the disasterous mistake of putting another fascist in office.
December 28th, 2005 at 12:31 amHE IS DOING BETTER THAN KERRY WOULD HAVE EVER DONE, OR MR.GORE, THINK ABOUT TI, YOU ALL THINK YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD DO IF YOU WERE IN HIS SITUATION, AND LIKE ,YEA I WOULD DO THIS AND THAT BETTER, B.S., UNTIL YOUR IN THAT SITUATION, YOU WOULDNT KNOW WHAT TO DO, SO DONT CRITISIZE UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN THERE, HES DOING WHAT HE BELIEVES IS RIGHT.
January 24th, 2006 at 12:13 pmIndeed, he IS doing what he believes is right BUT he has no idea what he’s doing in the 1st place. Simple fact: he has violated the checks/balances rule of the Constitution. Not to mention that this action of his violates the 4th Amendment.
But, of course, patriotism trumps all these days. At least the Bush Admin’s perverted idea of patriotism which is actually fascism.
January 30th, 2006 at 1:42 pmthis one, #299, is truly one of the sheep.
January 30th, 2006 at 1:51 pmIrecently read in the NY Times Jan. 17 article titled, “Spy Agency Data After Sept. 11 Led F.B.I. to Dead Ends.” When reading the article I came across this quote:
I then realized I was one of those dead ends.
While attending college, my roommates and I were contacted in Aug. 2004 by the FBI and were told that our phone number, which didn’t even have a long distance carrier, was used to call a terrorist organization in Pakistan in Oct. 2003. Once we were all interviewed, and they knew they had made a mistake we were told that sometimes the #’s sometimes get mixed up when they are decoded.
My main worry is that since Oct. 2003, the government has been listening to all my conversations. I have nothing to hide, but I still don’t want people listening to my PRIVATE conversations. If they have reason to get a warrant, so be it. Until then, I say get the fuck off my phone Bush.
January 31st, 2006 at 2:32 am[...] In addition to Gonzales, former NSA director Michael Hayden and President Bush also made false statements relating to warrantless domestic surveillance. [...]
January 31st, 2006 at 12:16 pmI agreee with post #296 BUSH WAS NOT LYING. Nothing he actually said was inaccurate. Wiretaps do require some kind of court order.
But it’s like someone grabbing your wallet while saying “by the way, mugging people is a crime.” They’re not actually lying to you. But they are taking your wallet — which is probably worse than lying to you, in many cases.
This is the same Rove sleight of words that people fall for over and over again. When we fall for this distraction and fail to keep our eyes on the prize, we LOSE the prize — in this case, our rights to file a writ of habeas corpus — that is one of the basic prizes of any democracy. Clearly the INTENT of the statement was to deceive people. But with words alone, the intent is camouflaged. That is what Al is talking about.
February 1st, 2006 at 10:03 amJesus, Andrew !!
February 1st, 2006 at 9:46 pmYou set the bar for lying pretty high. By your standards, it appears Clinton didn’t really “have sex with that woman” — by his own mental definition of sex at the moment he was speaking those words, regardless of what a reasonable person standing next to him might believe he meant by those words.
You people are completely brainwashed to support the lunatic in chief. Good luck when the imperial powers are eventually inherited by someone from the loyal opposition. Your king seems to forget that one reason we have Constitutional protections is that sometimes people we don’t agree with assume power through the ballot. He’s setting a lot of very dangerous precedents even while he’s abusing these rights himself.
[...] Bush, 4/20/04: Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. [...]
February 2nd, 2006 at 10:55 amEverybody that cannot see what Bush was and is doing is an idiot. Misinformation is the number 1 way to win a war by deceiving the enemy then hammering them. The American Military put out misinformation in WW2 which led to America’s eventual victory at Midway Is. I’ve served and now am in support of the US military overseas. And you bunch of idiots are not helping our guys at all. Cynics we don’t need. In WW2 the majority of women didn’t become comics, they worked and provided vital support for the war effort. In life you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. The cards have already been dealt. I’ve never seen once piece of paper that has crossed Bush’s (or any administrative official, DOD, or FSO) Desk. So who am I to speak without knowledge. Those who do are usually cynical idiots that console each other with the very little power they have, and that power isn’t political.
If I’m the President, and if I believe I can capture terrorist or stop terrorist attacks by spreading misinformation, and it possibly saves American lives or interests, of course I would spread the misinformation. Every good war vetern would. This is like chess, but it’s not a game. If you don’t think more than one move ahead (or you’re in it for political gain), you or many American civilians will eventually get killed (like the WTC). That’s why there are war colleges. Which obviously, most of those on this site, especially Al, have not attended.
P.S. – for the record, I’m Ind. (fiscal conservative, want gun control, abortion, and other individual rights amended to the constitution (which I’m sure that most people on this sight have never read))
February 2nd, 2006 at 11:25 amOMG Mike! If you REALLY believe that I have some bridges for sale. LOL
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:29 pmOMFG people are SO stupid.
impeach and hang the creep is what I say!
The difference Kent is that communication monitoring has caught hundreds if not thousands of terrorist worldwide in the last few years, Italy, Germany, England, and these are only the ones that we know about. I believe (this is an observation by your post) that I’m slightly more qualified to understand whats happening than you Kent. The facts are that misinformation is the best way to get an enemy to make a mistake. Go to any college that teaches warfare and you will learn this, amongst other things. Furthermore, neither the President nor any DOD personnel has said that they were using this tactic. This is my observation being prior USMC. A good commander would never devulge his tactics. If a stupid commander told the press that they were using misinformation tactics, the enemy would never trust CNN (or any other media outlet) for information again.
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:05 amLastly, your arguement sucks….. You have no facts, just hate. Actually, your arguement makes you sound as if you are a teenager that hasn’t been very far in the world yet. My advice is before you buy arrows, make sure you’ve spent the time (matured) to learn the principles of shooting one.
Mike, poor ignorant boy, the misinformation is a no brainer, like you. Plenty of facts presented previously. lol
February 3rd, 2006 at 11:24 am52 & aging poorly and really almost don’t…..
If you speak like that and you are 52, I totally understand why you don’t understand. Obviously you have never engaged in ANY combat training. That’s why you are the one that is ignorant (no maliciousness intended, just the fact), and not me. If you had ever been to leavenworth war college or any combat training, you would understand.
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:11 pm[...] By now we all know that Bush has authorized the use of wiretaps on anyone in America because it will allow us to track the communications of terrorists. The problem is that these wiretaps have been done WITHOUT a court order. The President has thrown the Constitution out the window and has side-stepped the courts completely. And then, while he was authorizing and using these wiretaps, he had the nerve to tell the public: Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution. [...]
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:24 pm#299
you stupid moronic imbecile. I am confident that Mr. Kerry and Mr. Gore would have abided by the laws of the land and gotten warrants for domestic spying activities they needed. Bush may have felt compelled to spy but it does not absolve of being guilty of breaking the law. As such there is a clear case for impeachment. Not that this congress will ever go there.
It will take this country decades, decades I tell you to recover from the harm this administration has inflicted on this country.
As for the democrats, sad to say there is not much promise that they can or will get their act together. Where are the democratic leaders?
There is also a failure with the fourth branch, the press. Unfortunately the press has failed America even more than the congress. The news industry has gone from investigating and delivery news to pumping out entertainment in the guise of news. One look at O’Reilly is all you need. Sad to see that in America leader of the free world that Americans are some of the least informed people in the free world.
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:10 pmTim Russert finally caught on and asked Sen Specter to comments on the bush Buffalo comments!
February 5th, 2006 at 9:30 pmBenjamin Franken said it best, he who would sacrific freedom for security deserves neither.
February 5th, 2006 at 11:25 pm[...] You can watch the video of Bush here. [...]
February 6th, 2006 at 9:47 am[...] Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) confronted Alberto Gonzales about Bush’s now-famous quote that “a wiretap requires a court order.” When confronted with the quote, Gonzales’ defense boiled down to “the President is not a lawyer.” Watch it: [...]
February 6th, 2006 at 1:13 pm[...] Think Progress » Bush Caught on Tape: “A Wiretap Requires A Court Order. Nothing Has Changed.†[...]
February 8th, 2006 at 2:42 pmWire tapping is really not a big deal. Whoever believes that government officials are listening to their phone calls needs a big reality check! They could care less about your insignificant lives. They only listen to certain calls, and I know this because my father was over in Baghdad this past year. Only the calls going out of this country and in to the country are being tapped, along with a few communities that have been selected under suspision. Any one who believes thier phone calls are being tapped are complete morons, and phone calls have been being tapped for years. So to the government it’s no big issue, I wouldn’t care if my calls were being tapped because I have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m not a perve, or a drug dealer, so give up a little privacy for a lot of security and get over yourselves. You people are not very American. It’s a simple choice, choose the drama that you make by making this a big deal or choose to have a safe country. It’s not sacrificing any liberties if we stand behind the president and support it, therefore there is no sacrifice.
February 8th, 2006 at 2:44 pmAttitudes like yours make me ashamed to be an American, “oozing_truth.”
Because “you have nothing to hide…” Yeah, that makes it better. There is a procedure for secret wiretapping, and the reason that procedure exists is to uphold the constitution. So it isn’t really about what you care or do not care about, or if you think we are all paranoid egoists. What matters is that for a couple hundred years or so, we’ve had a right to privacy and this president chooses to circumvent the law of the land. He clearly knows he was breaking the law, or speaches like this post brings out would not have been made.
Your accusations shown towards those who wish to uphold the law, the constitution, show a total disregard for liberty, in spite of how you end your post. Unless 100% of U.S. citizens agreed with you, and a majority do not, you can’t even make a case that willfully allowing warrantless wiretaps is anything but a sacrifice of liberty for security.
This president broke the law. He lied to the American people (this one can’t be argued that he was misled by bad intelligence, he authorized the wiretapping two years before he lied about it). He deserves to be upheld by the same standard we held to the last president. Impeachment is the only right thing to go. The United States of America deserve a trial on this issue. Perhaps that trial will turn out the same as with Clinton, but we deserve a public impeachment trial to determine the scope of the president’s illegal operations.
February 8th, 2006 at 2:55 pm[...] The folks at ThinkProgress.org have put up a video of a speech President Bush made in April 2004, in which he categorically states that wiretaps need court approval. After he had authorized wiretaps without such approval. Thanks to Alan for pointing this out. [...]
February 8th, 2006 at 9:31 pmIts OK, he had his toes crossed.
February 9th, 2006 at 2:07 pmIf you guys will stop thinking with hatred as your modivation, I urge you to look at this logically and factually.
Only 5,000 people(number as of last Monday) have been monitored since the start of the program.
All of which were phone calls made out of this country to suspicious countries.
How many hours do you spend on your phone in a given month? For me it’s around 12 hours a month. Now multiply that by the current US population of 298,087,397 people, now multiply thhat answer by how many months the alleged “domesic spying program” has been in effect (2 months).
The answer I get is:7,154,097,528 hours of talk time a month.
Noone has the man power or the modivation to even give a crap about going through that much audio.
Here is an exert from wikipedia in reference to the Echelon program:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON
“It has been alleged that in 2002 the Bush Administration extended the ECHELON program to domestic surveillance. This controversy was the subject of the New York Times eavesdropping exposé of December, 2005. Evidence exists to suggest that ECHELON was already being used for domestic eavesdropping during the Clinton administration [8], although testimony by then-CIA director George Tenet indicates that the use of ECHELON during the Clinton administration was authorized by the FISA Court, as required by law”
During the 1990’s under President Clinton, the National Security Agency monitored millions(not thousands) of private phone calls placed by U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries.
I’m afraid you will hear the same thing at the trials for Bush’s “domestic spying” allegations.
Sorry for the length, but please look at facts and not conspiracy theories…and don’t lower yourselves by calling me names, I am trying to present recorded facts. I want to close this with some of my favorite quotes:
February 11th, 2006 at 12:04 pm“Think for yourself, question authority.”-TOOL
“Trust but Verify”-Ronald Reagan paraphrased from the Bible
There is no liberty or justice left in the United States. Contrary to popular belief we are on auto pilot to our own demise; just as many great countries of the past have fallen. Our government is completely controlled by one org, one group and on one certain path that leads to fear, anger, hate and suffering. There are no checks and balances in our government.(Executive/Legisalative/Judical)
February 12th, 2006 at 5:32 pmChecks and balances is supposed keep the others from doing anything wrong and against our sovereign rights and our constitution. Christians, true believers, know this, these are not men and women of G-d! They are his adversaries.
When It Comes to Wire Taps, Non-Marketability is Political Suicide
How “Marketable†is the argument that wire taps should be conducted legally? If there is anything the Bush administration understands, it is stratified statistics and target markets. I think of this administration as the Bush Political Corporation, with marketing strategies that are sometimes communicated, more often covert, but always evidenced or implied in hindsight. Just as a corporation seeks a competitive advantage over other firms, so does the Bush administration seek a competitive advantage over its political rivals. Just as a corporation uses brand names and labels to pursue a competitive advantage (like the Kleenex brand name draws us to their tissues), the Bush administration has a panel of wordsmiths to promote partisan political branding (as tree-huggers, class-warfare, the death tax, and now “The Long War†persuade voters to favor their policies). Just as corporations use packaging to create a competitive advantage (like putting a convenient handle on an 8-pack of Gatorade), the Bush administration packages political issues together to sell less desirable policies with ones that add more value (like claiming the right to eavesdrop on US citizens’ phone conversations without legislative or judicial oversight, but bundling that as a necessity during a “long war†on terrorism). In our society of headline-education and media dragon-feeding, most of our population lacks the depth of understanding required to know “why†some policies are dangerous to the health of our democracy and to the freedom of our people. Very few of us have the rigorous logic and critical thinking skills that we need to really understand the issues at a level of breadth and depth that allows us to see through all the smoke and mirrors, and to understand the implications two and three layers deeper than what is on the surface. The remaining majority of readers, listeners, and viewers understand only the primal simplicity – the most marketable tip of the iceberg – that political spin masters release to the dragon-feeding, Nielsen-worshipping, advertising addicted media.
Spying on domestic citizens without legislative or judicial oversight is a serious, dangerous, J-Edgar-Hoover-esque problem that we are facing as a nation. But to truly understand “why†requires a political argument so substantive in its understanding that it runs deeper than the a-b-c, 1-2-3 level of simplicity that the American public can digest without suffering from complex information gas. The argument is sorely lacking the marketability required to muster the majority of public support, and more importantly, is an enormous source of political vulnerability to a pro-military, anti-terrorism public during up-coming legislative elections. However unfortunate, to stand up for the democratic ideals that have protected our government from tyranny is a source of political risk that could cost the most moral supporters their jobs as savvy and pragmatic politicians err on the side of marketability.
Kenneth J. Hesser
February 13th, 2006 at 2:02 amSuwanee, GA
[...] Video at Think Progress. [...]
February 17th, 2006 at 4:13 pmA cartoon about the Cheney incident
http://www.disjtu.com
February 20th, 2006 at 12:20 pmI am a Gulf War veteran, and I am totally against the war in Iraq. I also think G.W is a traitor! It amazes me how my being against the war gets me called “America Hater”, and “Stinkin Liberal”. I don’t know if you notice this but there is a trend in this country that if you don’t back daddy war Bush you are Un-Patriotic. This wiretapping is pure un-constitutional crap! This week Bush is alowing an Arab state, The United Arab Imirates to own and control 6 major U.S. Ports.I urge you to write your congressman and ask him/her to start the impeachment process of our Clown President.
February 22nd, 2006 at 5:24 pmImpeach.
February 24th, 2006 at 12:50 pmim just a christian boy who is about 13 and I would like to say anyone who wouldnt put up a wire tap because of 911 is insane and the majourity of these 329 writers are liberals would love too bash bush but hes doing the right thing just think if the N.S.A. were too not fallow up and tap these people we could have another 20000 people dead just cause some people dont like the F.B.I to listen to thier prissie coversation of no importance and also they wire tap 9 to 11 people a year and if you were gonna die from one of these callers and the F.B.I would have been able to prevent it i think you wouldnt be saying any of these small thought processed blogs
P.S just to let the sit know 330 isnt an acomplishment c ya
March 6th, 2006 at 11:25 pmalso you rock 296 and 304
March 6th, 2006 at 11:28 pmSure Clinton didnt lie Either:
Clinton said he didnt have SEXUAL RELATIONS with that women. After all Clinton was talking about sexual relations and not Blow Jobs.
See Bush was talking abour Roving wiretaps for international calls and not domestic regular wiretapping
:gg:
March 7th, 2006 at 1:52 am[...] First, let’s keep in mind the fact that if it were up to the Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee, this program would still be going on and none of us would know anything about it. Second, let’s remember that we still don’t know who the NSA targeted for surveillance. We have the President’s word that the NSA only wiretapped phone calls from al-Qaeda suspects, but this is the same guy who told us that no wiretaps would be placed without a court order (click here to see a video of your president lying). You simply can’t take George W. Bush at his word. [...]
March 12th, 2006 at 1:50 pmAll of the shit that is going on with these damn murderers in the White House could have been avoided had more than half of this country voted against this Satan the second time around. For those that voted for him in 2004 and now are against him, you have no right to express your disapproval of his communist and tyranic way of leadership for he was a piece of shit in 2001 as he was in 2004.
March 13th, 2006 at 12:04 am[...] Caught on tape: George Bush assuring us that, duh!, wiretapping requires a court order! The Patriot Act is just a harmless bit of…..you know, whatever. [...]
March 18th, 2006 at 3:28 pm[...] Nevertheless, Bush stands by his assertion that his crimes were in fact legal despite the fact that he admitted their illegality multiple times in the past. [...]
March 21st, 2006 at 3:28 pm[...] WHAT IS THE NEW PROGRAM?: USA Today reported yesterday, “The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth.” The three telecommunications companies, who together provide local and wireless phone service to over 200 million Americans, are working under contract with the NSA, which launched the program in 2001 shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. One major telecommunications company, Qwest, declined to participate in the program indicating that it was deeply troubled both by the expansiveness of the request and by the NSA’s assertion that a court order was not needed. Although the telcos reportedly are not directly handing over customers’ names and addresses, the phone number records provided to the NSA “can easily be cross-checked with other databases to obtain that information.” Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) remarked, “We’ve got a new slogan for the AT&T and NSA: Reach out and tap someone.” NOT SO TARGETED AFTER ALL: Bush neither confirmed nor denied the existence of a domestic call-tracking database, claiming yesterday, “We’re not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of Americans.” (Of course, prior to the revelation of the domestic wiretapping program, Bush falsely assured the American public that “anytime you hear the United States government talking about wiretap — a wiretap requires a court order.”) Bush defended the program yesterday saying that the program was part of an effort to track al Qaeda. “[I]f al Qaeda or their associates are making calls into the United States or out of the United States, we want to know what they’re saying.” Eugene Robinson responds to Bush’s claim, “Not remotely true, it turns out, unless tens of millions of Americans are members of al-Qaeda sleeper cells — evildoers who cleverly disguise their relentless plotting as sales calls, gossip sessions and votes for Elliott on ‘American Idol.’” Moreover, the Bush “administration’s apparent disrespect for what most of us would regard as one of the most fundamental freedoms of all — a right to privacy — raises deep concerns about the self-inflicted erosion of our way of life.” TROUBLE AHEAD FOR TELCOS: It’s no longer sufficient for Bush to simply state, “Just trust us.” “Congress urgently needs to examine the full range of NSA domestic surveillance,” the Washington Post writes. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) criticized Congress’s unwillingness to provide a check on the administration’s actions. “Unfortunately, the Congress has acted like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the White House and has rubber-stamped everything that’s gone on. And then we find out everything through the press, whoops, they weren’t following the law,” he said. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) said he planned to call executives from Verizon Communications, BellSouth Corp., and AT&T Corp. before his panel “to find out exactly what is going on.” Because the program is being conducted domestically without a court order, the telcos may be liable for tens of billions of dollars for carrying out illegal actions. The call-tracking program could violate the Stored Communications Act which applies a $1,000 penalty (plus attorney’s fees) for each customer “aggrieved by any violation.” The telcos may also have violated the Communications Act, possibly subjecting them to fines levied by the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T is already the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which alleged in January that the company had given the NSA direct access to the records of the more than 300 million domestic and international calls and a huge volume of Internet data traffic. The lawsuit asked a court to halt the collection. The Justice Department told the court late last month it would seek to dismiss the case under the state secrets privilege. [...]
May 13th, 2006 at 10:30 pm[...] So I should support the Patriot Act because it is protecting me from evil-doers…right…no one would get caught up in the Patriot Act wrongfully would they? There are checks and balances and the Constitution right? [...]
August 29th, 2006 at 9:42 pm